Nuclear radiation detection via the deflection of pliable microstructures

The feasibility of detecting single quanta of radiation via mechanical deflection is examined. When a particle strikes an object, momentum is transferred to the impacted body. The resulting body motion can be correlated to the energy of the incident particle. Microelectronic fabrication techniques are used to build the sensing microstructures. Typical levers which have been fabricated have dimensions of width=1 μm, length=5 μm, and thickness=0.05 μm. Linear beam deflection theory is used to model the vibration of the levers. Theoretical pulse height distributions demonstrate that the signals from heavy-ion impacts are measurable, but those from light-ion collisions are swamped by the thermal noise contribution. Thus, if light ions are to be detected, then the effects of thermal noise must be reduced.