A new radiation detector has been developed by staff and students at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and is soon set to be deployed at the world’s top laboratories.

The team behind the detection module, which can be used for nuclear experiments, hopes that the new unit will have a far-reaching impact on areas where radiation detection is necessary, and said it could even help in training the UK’s future workforce in nuclear energy. 

The novel LaBr3 (Ce) radiation detector improves on the portability and adaptability of current modules, and according to the university will have a wide variety of applications within laboratory settings, including in clean energy, environmental radiation and medical research.

The detector will support lab experiments at CERN, aiding nuclear reaction and structure research, measuring elemental phenomena, probing fundamental symmetries, and uncovering rare nuclear features previously out of reach.

Undergraduate students at UWS have also been able to benefit from this advancement, with one of the prototypes of the LaBr3 (Ce) detector being used in the teaching laboratory as part of a Year 3 Physics with Nuclear Technology module.

Development of the detector was led by Dr Nara Singh Bondili, a lecturer in UWS’s Nuclear Physics Group, alongside collaboration with the University of York.

“We’re proud to be able to enhance the Physics with Nuclear Technology Undergraduate Programme at UWS, solidifying its reputation as Scotland’s ‘go to’ place to study nuclear physics and its applications,” said Dr Bondili.

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“The Detectors and Nuclear Lab Skills module is being taught for the first time and this teaching laboratory session provides valuable hands-on nuclear research skills that train a future workforce in nuclear physics and nuclear applications, especially in nuclear energy.”

The new detector was initially designed and constructed in 2021, the same year the nuclear physics team at UWS won funding from the Department for Transport for the development of a ‘Compton’ camera to passively inspect and monitor people, vehicles, and cargo for illegally smuggled radioactive material.