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Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Fluorescence detection methods for microfluidic droplet platforms
Published on: December 10, 2011
APPLICATION OF DROPLET DETECTORS TO ALPHA RADIATION DETECTION
T Morlat1, A C Fernandes1, M Felizardo1
1C2TN, Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, E.N. 10, Bobadela LRS, Portugal.
Abstract:
Superheated droplet detectors (SDDs) are traditionally employed in the detection of neutrons. In this work the focus is on the detection of alpha particles using C2ClF5 as the target liquid. The alpha-droplet interaction is examined via computational studies, and a geometric model developed to describe the expected detector response. Experiments with alpha-emitting uranium- and samarium-doped SDDs at temperatures of 5-12°C confirm that the event rate is related to the size of the droplets, and are in model agreement for temperatures below 8°C; above this temperature, the acoustic sensitivity is reduced by signal attenuation as a result of the increasing bubble population, for which the addition of an attenuation coefficient restores the agreement with experiment. The results suggest the viability of a SDD-based alpha spectrometer using mono-sized droplets.
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