Current generating device and incident amount measuring device

Abstract

A current generating device 10 which, in order to measure an amount of incident measurement-target radiation, generates a current corresponding to the incident amount, includes a plurality of power generating elements 1 that are arranged side by side. Each power generating element 1 generates a current corresponding to the amount of incident measurement-target radiation corresponding to the power generating element. The plurality of power generating elements 1 include two or more power generating elements 1 having mutually different power generation characteristics.

Description

Current Generator and Incident Quantity Measuring Device

[0001] The present invention relates to a current generator that generates a current corresponding to the incident quantity of radiation to be measured (hereinafter also referred to as target radiation). The present invention also relates to an incident quantity measuring device including the current generator.

[0002] An incident quantity measuring device for measuring the incident quantity (number) of neutrons as target radiation is used to measure the incident quantity of neutrons at a predetermined measurement location in the fields of medical treatment and non-destructive inspection using neutrons, as well as in industrial facilities (e.g., nuclear power generation facilities) where neutrons are generated.

[0003] Patent Document 1 below describes that a neutron ray detection device, which is such an incident quantity measuring device, is configured using a solar cell (power generation body). The neutron ray detection device of Patent Document 1 forms a conversion film for converting incident neutron rays into charged particles or photons on the surface of the solar cell (the surface of the electrode layer). With this configuration, the conversion film converts incident neutrons into charged particles or photons, and the solar cell generates a current due to the incident charged particles or photons, and calculates the flux of neutron rays based on the generated current.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-115849

[0005] There are cases where it is desired to measure target radiation such as neutrons for each of a plurality of regions. Also, in this case, when measuring the incident quantity for each of the plurality of regions where the target radiation is incident, it is necessary to prepare and arrange a plurality of incident quantity measuring devices. For example, when the target radiation is neutrons, it is necessary to prepare the plurality of neutron ray detection devices described above and arrange the conversion films and solar cells of each of these neutron ray detection devices in a plurality of regions.

[0006] Furthermore, it is desirable to broaden the range of measurable incident doses of target radiation such as neutrons. For example, the neutron beam detection device described above has a measurable range for the incident neutron dose as a power generation characteristic determined by its conversion film and solar cell. Therefore, if the incident neutron dose is outside the measurable range, the incident neutron dose cannot be measured. For example, if a neutron beam is incident on the conversion film at an incident dose outside the measurable range, the incident dose cannot be measured for reasons such as the generated current being too small or becoming saturated.

[0007] An object of one aspect of the present invention is to solve at least one of the above-mentioned problems.

[0008] A current generating device according to one aspect of the present invention is a device that generates a current corresponding to the amount of incident radiation to be measured in order to measure the amount of incident radiation to be measured, and comprises a plurality of power generation elements arranged side by side, each of which power generation elements generates a current corresponding to the amount of incident radiation to be measured that corresponds to the power generation element.

[0009] An incident amount measuring device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises the above-described current generating device and a processing device that determines multiple incident amounts of radiation to be measured corresponding to the multiple currents based on the multiple current values ​​measured by the current measuring device.

[0010] This shows an injection amount measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Figure 1. Figure 2 shows the state before the film holding member is attached to the power generation body. This is a partially enlarged view of Figure 2. This is a perspective view showing the arrangement of multiple power generation elements in a current generation device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This shows an element holder according to Configuration Example 1. This shows an element holder according to Configuration Example 2. This is a perspective view illustrating the arrangement of multiple power generation elements in a current generation device according to a modified example.

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Common parts in each figure are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

[0012] Figure 1 shows an incident radiation dose measuring device 20 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The incident radiation dose measuring device 20 includes a current generating device 10 for measuring the incident amount of radiation to be measured (hereinafter simply referred to as target radiation). The current generating device 10 includes a plurality of power generation elements 1, and for each power generation element 1, it generates a current corresponding to the incident amount of target radiation incident on the power generation element 1. That is, for each of the plurality of power generation elements 1, the current generating device 10 determines the incident amount of target radiation to the region where the power generation element 1 is located based on the value of the current generated by the power generation element 1.

[0013] The incident radiation measurement device 20 includes a processing device 21 in addition to the current generator 10. As will be described later, the processing device 21 determines the amount of target radiation incident on each power generation element 1 of the current generator 10 (for example, the amount of incident radiation per unit time) based on the value of the current generated by the power generation element 1.

[0014] The target radiation may be, for example, neutrons. In this case, the incident radiation measurement device 20 can be used to measure the amount of neutrons incident at a predetermined measurement point for each region of the power generation element 1 in non-destructive testing and medical settings using neutrons, as well as in industrial equipment that generates neutrons (for example, nuclear power generation equipment). Note that the target radiation is not limited to neutrons. For example, the target radiation may be a different type of radiation from neutrons, such as gamma rays, X-rays, electron beams, or ion beams.

[0015] <Components of the Current Generator> The current generator 10 comprises a plurality of power generation elements 1, an element holder 2, a current measuring device 3, wiring 4, and a display unit 5. In Figure 1, the plurality of power generation elements 1 and the element holder 2 are shown in plan view.

[0016] Each of the multiple power generation elements 1 generates a current corresponding to the amount of target radiation incident upon it. Here, the target radiation for each of the multiple power generation elements 1 may be the same type of radiation (e.g., neutrons). However, the type of target radiation that causes a current to be generated in each power generation element 1 may differ among all or some of the multiple power generation elements 1. That is, the type of target radiation for each of the multiple power generation elements 1 may be different from one another. Furthermore, the multiple power generation elements 1 generate currents independently of each other according to the amount of target radiation incident upon them.

[0017] Multiple power generation elements 1 are arranged side by side on an element holder 2 (for example, the surface of the element holder 2). In this embodiment, the multiple power generation elements 1 are arranged two-dimensionally on the element holder 2 (for example, the surface of the element holder 2). For example, as shown in Figure 1, the multiple power generation elements 1 are arranged in an array on the element holder 2 (surface). In such an arrangement, each pair of adjacent power generation elements 1 are electrically insulated from each other by providing a gap or an insulator between them. The multiple power generation elements 1 (for example, the element holder 2 to which the multiple power generation elements 1 are attached) may be arranged such that the target radiation is incident from the side facing the surface (plane) on which the multiple power generation elements 1 are arranged two-dimensionally.

[0018] Furthermore, among the multiple power generation elements 1, those with relatively high resistance to the target radiation incident per unit area (the same type of target radiation or each type of target radiation) may be positioned closer to the center of the two-dimensional arrangement than those with relatively lower resistance. The higher the resistance of a power generation element 1, the less likely it is to be damaged by the target radiation, and the longer its usable time (lifespan). In such an arrangement, the overall lifespan of the multiple power generation elements 1 can be extended if the amount of target radiation incident per unit area is relatively large at the center of the two-dimensional arrangement of the multiple power generation elements 1, and relatively small at positions offset from the center in the two-dimensional arrangement (for example, the further away from the center).

[0019] Multiple power generation elements 1 are mounted side by side on the element holder 2. Each of the multiple power generation elements 1 is detachably attached to the element holder 2 (for example, its surface). For example, each power generation element 1 may be attached to the element holder 2 with removable adhesive tape. That is, for each power generation element 1, a portion of the adhesive tape may be attached to the power generation element 1, and the other portion of the adhesive tape may be attached to the element holder 2, thereby detachably attaching the power generation element 1 to the element holder 2. Alternatively, each power generation element 1 may be detachably attached to the element holder 2 (for example, its surface) via an adhesive sheet (for example, a silicone adhesive sheet) or a removable adhesive, etc., sandwiching the element holder 2 and each power generation element 1. However, the means for making each power generation element 1 detachably attached to the element holder 2 are not limited to these examples.

[0020] The element holder 2 may be, for example, a sheet-like or plate-like member. The sheet-like or plate-like element holder 2 may have a thickness in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 1. In one example, the element holder 2 may be a deformable sheet-like material. In this case, the sheet-like element holder 2 can be attached to the surface where the target radiation is measured (hereinafter simply referred to as the measurement surface) in a state where it has been deformed to conform to the shape of the measurement surface (by means of adhesive tape, etc.). That is, even if the measurement surface is curved, the sheet-like element holder 2 can be deformed into a shape that matches the measurement surface and then attached to the measurement surface. In this case, each power generation element 1 may also have a deformable sheet shape. That is, each power generation element 1 may be attached to the element holder 2 in a state where its thickness direction coincides with the thickness direction of the sheet-like element holder 2.

[0021] The element holder 2, to which multiple power generation elements 1 are attached, may be configured as a portable device that can be carried by a person. In this case, with the terminals 4a of each wire 4 removed from the current measuring device 3, the element holder 2 and the multiple power generation elements 1 can be easily moved and placed together at the measurement location of the target radiation. That is, the element holder 2 is not an object or structure installed at the site where the target radiation is measured, but rather it is moved to the measurement location of the target radiation at the site where the target radiation is measured for the purpose of measuring the target radiation.

[0022] The current measuring device 3 independently measures the value of the current generated by each of the multiple power generation elements 1. Each power generation element 1 (for example, electrode layers 13b and 13c described later) attached to the element holder 2 can be connected to the current measuring device 3 described later via wiring 4. Wiring 4 may be provided for each power generation element 1. The base end of the wiring 4 is connected to the corresponding power generation element 1 (electrode layer 13b and electrode layer 13c), and the tip of the wiring 4 may be provided with a terminal 4a that can be connected to a terminal 3a of the current measuring device 3. Therefore, the current measuring device 3 may have multiple terminals 3a that can be connected to multiple terminals 4a of multiple wirings 4, respectively. The current measuring device 3 is detachably connected to each of the multiple power generation elements 1 via multiple wirings 4 (i.e., terminals 4a and terminals 3a), and measures the value of the current generated by each of the multiple power generation elements 1 via these wirings 4.

[0023] Although not shown in the diagram, the current measuring device 3 may have multiple current measuring instruments. Each of these current measuring instruments may have the terminal 3a described above. Each of these current measuring instruments measures the value of the current generated by a corresponding power generation element 1 connected via the wiring 4.

[0024] The display unit 5 displays the current value measured by the current measuring device 3 for the current generated by each of the multiple power generation elements 1. The display unit 5 may be a single display that displays these current values. Alternatively, the display unit 5 may be a display provided on each of the multiple current measuring instruments that constitute the current measuring device 3, and display the current value measured by the current measuring instrument. The display unit 5 may be a display provided on the current measuring device 3 (for example, each of the current measuring instruments described above), or it may be a device that is separate from the current measuring device 3 but has a display that receives and displays the measured current values ​​from the current measuring device 3.

[0025] <Configuration of Each Power Generation Element> Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Figure 1, showing a cross-section of one power generation element 1. Figure 3 shows the state before the film holding member 12 is attached to the power generation body 13 in Figure 2. In the following, the configuration of one power generation element 1 will be described based on Figures 2 and 3, but multiple power generation elements 1 will have the same configuration as the power generation element 1 described below.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2, the power generation element 1 includes a conversion film 11, a film holding member 12, and a power generation body 13. In this case, the target radiation for the power generation element 1 may be neutrons. If the target radiation for the power generation element 1 is gamma rays, X-rays, electron beams, or ion beams, the power generation element 1 does not need to have a conversion film 11 and a film holding member 12, and may instead have, for example, the power generation body 13 described later.

[0027] The conversion film 11 converts the target radiation into another type of radiation (hereinafter simply referred to as "another type of radiation"). In this application, the target radiation and the other type of radiation each mean radiation in a broad sense, and include particle radiation and electromagnetic waves. The particle beam may be, for example, a neutron, electron beam, alpha particle (alpha ray), beta particle (beta ray), ion beam (e.g., proton), or lithium nucleus. The electromagnetic wave may be, for example, a gamma ray. In the embodiment, the target radiation is a neutron, and the other type of radiation may be an alpha particle, beta particle, gamma ray, proton, or lithium nucleus.

[0028] The conversion film 11 may be formed from materials as illustrated below. The conversion film 11 may contain boron (B), gadolinium (Gd), or lithium (Li). When the target radiation is neutron radiation, for example, a conversion film 11 formed from a material containing boron converts the incident neutron radiation into alpha rays (alpha rays and lithium nuclei), a conversion film 11 formed from a material containing gadolinium converts the incident neutrons into gamma rays, and a conversion film 11 formed from lithium converts the incident neutrons into alpha rays. The conversion film 11 may be a nitride film, fluoride film, oxide film, or other compound thin film of lithium, boron, or gadolinium. Alternatively, the conversion film 11 may contain a mixture of any element from lithium, boron, and gadolinium with a lithium compound, a boron compound, or a gadolinium compound. In such a conversion film 11, incident neutrons react with one of the elements lithium, boron, or gadolinium within the conversion film 11 to generate particle radiation or electromagnetic waves, which may be at least one of the following: alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, protons, or lithium nuclei.

[0029] A conversion film 11 is formed on the film holding member 12. The conversion film 11 is integrally bonded to the film holding member 12. The film holding member 12 may be a sheet-like member. In the case of a sheet-like film holding member 12, the conversion film 11 is formed on one surface in the thickness direction (for example, the entire surface).

[0030] The film-holding member 12 may have a conversion film 11 formed on it, for example, by an electrostatic coating method. That is, by an electrostatic coating method, the material for the conversion film 11 is attached to the surface of the film-holding member 12 using static electricity, and then the material is dried by heating it to a predetermined temperature (for example, about 100°C) to form the conversion film 11. Therefore, the film-holding member 12 has heat resistance to this heating. For example, the film-holding member 12 has a heat resistance temperature of at least 80°C, 100°C, 120°C, or 150°C.

[0031] Such a film-holding member 12 may be made of plastic (e.g., polyimide), aluminum, glass, or other material. For example, a sheet-like film-holding member 12 may be a plastic film (e.g., polyimide film), aluminum foil, or a glass plate.

[0032] The sheet-like film-holding member 12 has a thickness that absorbs almost no incident neutrons. If the sheet-like film-holding member 12 is made of a material that does not contain hydrogen, which reacts with neutrons, the thickness of the sheet-like film-holding member 12 (e.g., aluminum foil, aluminum plate, glass plate) may be 1 mm or less. In this case, the thickness of the film-holding member 12 that is an aluminum plate or glass plate may be 0.1 mm or more and 1 mm or less, and the thickness of the film-holding member 12 that is aluminum foil may be 0.01 mm or more and 1 mm or less. If the sheet-like film-holding member 12 is made of a material that contains hydrogen, the thickness of the sheet-like film-holding member 12 (e.g., polyimide film) is preferably 0.3 mm or less. In this case, the thickness of the film-holding member 12 that is polyimide film may be 0.01 mm or more and 0.3 mm or less.

[0033] On the other hand, the thickness of the conversion film 11 formed on the film holding member 12 may be 1 μm or more and 20 μm or less, or 1 μm or more and 5 μm or less. This makes it possible to suppress the attenuation of the other radiation generated in the conversion film 11 within the conversion film 11. In the case of a large amount of incident radiation, the thickness of the conversion film 11 may be smaller than the predetermined value (for example, 1 μm), for example, 0.001 μm or more and less than 1 μm, so that the current generated in the power generator 13 does not saturate.

[0034] The power generator 13 generates an electric current when the aforementioned other radiation, converted by the conversion film 11, is incident on it. In this embodiment, even when target radiation (neutrons in this embodiment) is incident on the power generator 13, the power generator 13 generates almost no electric current depending on the target radiation. The power generator 13 is manufactured separately from the film holding member 12, and then the film holding member 12 is attached to the power generator 13. The power generator 13 (for example, the electrode layers 13b and 13c described later) can be connected to the current measuring device 3 via the wiring 4, as described above. For example, as described above, the base end of the wiring 4 is connected to the power generator 13 (electrode layer 13b and electrode layer 13c), and the tip of the wiring 4 may be provided with a terminal 4a that can be connected to the terminal 3a of the current measuring device 3 (see Figure 1).

[0035] In this embodiment, the power generation element 13 is a solar cell. That is, the current generating device 10 according to this embodiment uses a solar cell that generates an electric current from incident sunlight as the power generation element 13. Figure 4 is a partially enlarged view of Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the power generation element 13 is a solar cell having a light-absorbing layer 13a that absorbs incident light, and electrode layers 13b and 13c that allow the current generated by the light absorption in the light-absorbing layer 13a to flow to the wiring 4. The solar cell 13 may be in the form of a sheet or a plate.

[0036] Examples of usable types of power generators 13 include silicon solar cells, perovskite solar cells, CIGS solar cells, and InGaP solar cells. In other words, power generators 13 may be silicon solar cells, perovskite solar cells, CIGS solar cells, or InGaP solar cells, but are not limited to these types of solar cells.

[0037] The silicon solar cell, as the power generation element 13, is formed by including silicon. For example, in this case, the light absorption layer 13a may have an n-type silicon semiconductor and a p-type silicon semiconductor. Here, the n-type silicon semiconductor and the p-type silicon semiconductor may be single-crystal silicon or polycrystalline silicon in which impurities have been diffused. The solar cell 13 may generate electricity using a pn junction formed by joining a p-type silicon semiconductor and an n-type silicon semiconductor, or it may generate electricity using a PIN junction in which an intrinsic semiconductor is sandwiched between a p-type silicon semiconductor and an n-type silicon semiconductor. The silicon solar cell as the power generation element 13 may also be an amorphous silicon solar cell.

[0038] The perovskite solar cell used as power generator 13 has a perovskite crystal structure. The CIGS solar cell used as power generator 13 is formed from a compound semiconductor mainly composed of four elements: Cu, In, Ga, and Se. The InGaP solar cell used as power generator 13 is formed from In, Ga, and P.

[0039] The solar cell, as the power generator 13, may, in one example, be configured to generate a measurable current based on the incident amount of the aforementioned other radiation, which is on the order of μGy / h or more and on the order of MGy / h or less. For example, the solar cell 13 can be used to generate a current based on the incident amount of the aforementioned other radiation on the order of mGy / h. In this case, the current generator 10 can be used to measure the incident amount of neutron radiation for medical purposes. In another example, the current generator 10 can be used to measure the incident amount of neutrons in a nuclear power plant. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0040] The film-holding member 12 may be a glass plate that covers and protects the surface of the solar cell 13. More specifically, the film-holding member 12 may be a glass plate that covers and protects the surface of the electrode layer 13b of the solar cell 13. Before the conversion film 11 is formed on the film-holding member 12, such a film-holding member 12 may be a component of the solar cell 13, and may be a glass plate that covers and protects the surface of the solar cell 13 (the surface of the electrode layer 13b).

[0041] Each power generation element 1 may have a rectangular, circular, elliptical, or a shape close to any of these when viewed from its thickness direction (for example, the thickness direction of the power generation body 13 or the conversion film 11), but is not limited to these shapes. Also, when each power generation element 1 is viewed from its thickness direction (for example, the thickness direction of the power generation body 13 or the conversion film 11), the dimensions in each direction may be, for example, 0.5 mm or more and 50 mm or less, or 0.5 mm or more and 10 mm or less in one example, but are not limited to these ranges.

[0042] <Differences in power generation characteristics of power generation elements> According to the present embodiment, the plurality of power generation elements 1 includes two or more power generation elements 1 having different power generation characteristics with respect to the same type of target radiation (neutrons in the examples). That is, each of the two or more power generation elements 1 has different power generation characteristics from any of the other power generation elements 1 of the two or more power generation elements 1.

[0043] The power generation characteristics for each of the two or more power generation elements 1 may be the range of the amount of incident radiation (hereinafter also simply referred to as the measurable incident amount range) in which the power generation element 1 generates a current that changes according to the amount of incident target radiation. When radiation with an incident amount that is the lower limit value of the measurable incident amount range is incident on the corresponding power generation element 1, the power generation element 1 may generate a current equal to or greater than the threshold value detectable by the current measurement device 3. Also, when radiation with an incident amount within the measurable incident amount range is incident on the corresponding power generation element 1, the current generated by the power generation element 1 may increase as the incident amount of radiation on the power generation element 1 increases.

[0044] Two or more power generation elements 1 having different power generation characteristics from each other may be arranged adjacent to each other. Two or more power generation elements 1 having different power generation characteristics from each other may be all the power generation elements 1 constituting the current generation device 10.

[0045] The two or more power generation elements 1 described above may have different power generation characteristics from each other, due to differences in the types of one or both of the conversion film 11 and the power generation body 13 as constituent elements. Here, "type" may mean either or both of the material and the structure. Here, the type of the conversion film 11 may be the material contained in the conversion film 11. The material contained in the conversion film 11 may be selected from the materials exemplified above. The type of the power generation body 13 may mean either or both of the material and the structure of the power generation body 13, and may be selected from the multiple types exemplified above. In one example, for each power generation element 1, two or more power generation elements 1 with different power generation characteristics can be constructed by selecting one of boron, gadolinium, and lithium as the material contained in the conversion film 11, and selecting one of silicon solar cells, perovskite solar cells, and CIGS solar cells (or a combination of these with InGaP solar cells) as the power generation body 13.

[0046] Furthermore, the differences in the power generation characteristics of the power generation element 1 described here may also be applied to the power generation characteristics described in the second embodiment.

[0047] <Configuration of the processing device> As described above, the processing device 21 provided in the incident amount measuring device 20 determines the amount of target radiation incident on each of the multiple power generation elements 1 based on the value of the current generated by the power generation element 1 and measured by the current measuring device 3.

[0048] For example, the processing unit 21 determines the amount of incident radiation for each of the multiple power generation elements 1 based on the current value generated by the power generation element 1 and measured by the current measuring device 3, and a predetermined correspondence between the current value and the amount of incident radiation for the power generation element 1. This correspondence is the relationship between each value of the amount of incident radiation to the current generator 10 (power generation element 1) and the value of the current generated by the power generation element 1 in that case (hereinafter simply referred to as the correspondence), and is predetermined experimentally and stored in the processing unit 21. In the case of a power generation element 1 having a conversion film 11 and a film holding member 12, the correspondence may be the relationship between the amount of incident radiation to the surface of the film holding member 12 opposite to the conversion film 11 and the value of the current generated by the power generation element 1.

[0049] The correspondence relationship of each of the plurality of power generation elements 1 may be determined according to the power generation element 1. For example, the correspondence relationships of the respective plurality of power generation elements 1 may be different from each other. The correspondence relationship may correspond to the power generation characteristics of the power generation element 1 described above. Therefore, the plurality of correspondence relationships respectively determined for the two or more power generation elements 1 having different power generation characteristics are different from each other.

[0050] The processing device 21 may obtain a plurality of incident amounts of the target radiation on each of the plurality of power generation elements 1 based on the plurality of current values simultaneously generated by the plurality of power generation elements 1 and measured by the ammeter 3, and output the obtained plurality of incident amounts as measurement data (for example, in real time). When the obtained incident amount is outside the measurable incident amount range as the power generation characteristic of the power generation element 1 for each of the plurality of power generation elements 1, the processing device 21 may include information indicating that in the above measurement data.

[0051] The processing device 21 may store position information indicating the position of each of the plurality of power generation elements 1. The processing device 21 may generate measurement data including the plurality of incident amounts obtained as described above and the position information of the plurality of power generation elements 1 based on the stored position information. In this measurement data, each of the plurality of incident amounts is associated with the position information corresponding to the incident amount (that is, the position information of the power generation element 1 that generated the current of the value used to obtain the incident amount).

[0052] Further, the processing device 21 has a time measurement unit (for example, a timer) that measures the elapsed time from a reference time point, and for each measured elapsed time, obtains a plurality of incident amounts of the target radiation on each of the plurality of power generation elements 1 as described above, and generates and outputs data in which the elapsed time and the plurality of incident amounts are associated with each other as measurement data. This measurement data may include the position information described above. In this case, in the measurement data, each of the plurality of incident amounts at each elapsed time is associated with the position information corresponding to the incident amount.

[0053] The output destination for the measurement data described above may be, for example, one or both of the display unit 22 and the storage unit 23, as described later. In other words, the processing unit 21 may output the obtained measurement data to one or both of the display unit 22 and the storage unit 23. However, the output destination for the measurement data is not limited to these. The processing unit 21 may be configured as a computer (for example, a personal computer), but is not limited to this.

[0054] The incident radiation measurement device 20 may include a display unit 22. The display unit 22 displays the above-mentioned measurement data (for example, in real time). Alternatively, instead of the processing device 21, a person may determine the incident radiation amount for each of the multiple power generation elements 1 based on the current value generated by the power generation element 1 displayed on the display unit 5 and the above-mentioned correspondence relationship with respect to the power generation element 1. In this case, the correspondence relationship with respect to the power generation element 1 may also be displayed on the display unit 5.

[0055] The injection amount measuring device 20 may include a storage unit 23. The storage unit 23 stores the measurement data obtained by the processing device 21.

[0056] <Manufacturing Method> Each power generation element 1 having a conversion film 11 and a film holder 12 can be manufactured, for example, by the following manufacturing method. This manufacturing method has steps S1 to S4. In step S1, a film holder 12 is prepared. In step S2, the conversion film 11 is formed on the surface of the film holder 12. Step S2 can be performed, for example, by an electrostatic coating method, and has steps S21 to S23.

[0057] In step S21, a powder consisting of numerous fine particles (for example, boron nitride powder) that will be the material for the conversion film 11 is prepared. The particle size of the fine particles constituting this powder is sufficiently smaller than the thickness of the conversion film 11, for example, less than 1 μm (in one example, 0.2 μm or less). Here, the particle size may be the average particle diameter. The average particle diameter may be expressed as the equivalent diameter of a circle by microscopy, or as the equivalent diameter of a sphere by light scattering.

[0058] In step S22, the prepared powder is added to the solution, and the solution is released from the nozzle onto the surface of the film-holding member 12. At this time, a voltage is applied between the nozzle and the film-holding member 12. As a result, the solution, which has been charged by the nozzle, is released from the nozzle, and the powder in the solution is applied to the surface of the film-holding member 12, which has been charged to the opposite pole to the charge of the solution. Any known and suitable nozzle and voltage application device may be used at this time, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0059] In step S23, the powder applied to the film-holding member 12 is heated. That is, the film-holding member 12 is heated. This forms a conversion film 11 on the surface of the film-holding member 12. The heating temperature in step S23 may be, for example, 80°C or higher, 100°C or higher, 120°C or higher, or 150°C or higher. If the solution in step S22 contains a binder, the binder may be volatilized by heating the film-holding member 12 to 300°C or higher in step S23.

[0060] In step S3, a power generator 13 is prepared. Here, the power generator 13 may be a solar cell. This solar cell 13 may be a commercially available product.

[0061] In step S4, the film-holding member 12 on which the conversion film 11 was formed in step S2 is attached to the power generation unit 13 as shown in Figure 2. Here, the power generation unit 13 is a deformable sheet-shaped solar cell, and the film-holding member 12 may also be a deformable sheet-shaped member. In this case, by attaching the film-holding member 12 on which the conversion film 11 is formed to the power generation unit 13, the film-holding member 12 and the power generation unit 13 form a single, integrated, deformable flexible sheet. That is, the film-holding member 12 and the power generation unit 13 may be overlapped and attached to each other in their respective thickness directions.

[0062] In one example, the film holding member 12 may be attached to the power generator 13, for example, with an adhesive. In this case, the thickness of the adhesive provided between the film holding member 12 (for example, the conversion film 11 on the film holding member 12) and the power generator 13 should be, for example, 0.1 mm or less. This makes it possible to suppress the attenuation of the other radiation by the adhesive before it enters the power generator 13.

[0063] Alternatively, in step S1, one large sheet-like film-holding member 12 may be prepared, in step S2, a conversion film 11 may be formed on the entire surface of the film-holding member 12, and then the film-holding member 12 may be cut to form multiple film-holding members 12 on which the conversion film 11 has been formed.

[0064] (Effects of the First Embodiment) According to the first embodiment, the following effects (A) to (G) can be obtained.

[0065] (A) Each of the multiple power generation elements 1 arranged side by side generates a current corresponding to the amount of incident radiation. Therefore, based on the values ​​of these currents, the amount of incident radiation to each region where the multiple power generation elements 1 are arranged can be determined.

[0066] (B) Of the multiple power generation elements 1 arranged side by side, two or more power generation elements 1 have different power generation characteristics. This makes it possible to measure the amount of incident radiation over a measurable incident amount range that cannot be obtained with the power generation characteristics of a single power generation element 1. For example, it becomes possible to measure the amount of incident radiation over a wide measurable incident amount range that cannot be obtained with a conventional single measuring instrument.

[0067] (C) Multiple power generation elements 1 are mounted side by side on the element holder 2. This allows the multiple power generation elements 1 and the element holder 2 to be transported and positioned together at the measurement site for the target radiation. Furthermore, since the multiple power generation elements 1 are pre-mounted on the element holder 2, their positions are predetermined relative to each other (fixed). Therefore, the work of positioning the multiple power generation elements 1 relative to each other at the measurement site for the target radiation is eliminated.

[0068] (D) Each of the multiple power generation elements 1 is detachable from the element holder 2. This allows a faulty power generation element 1 to be easily replaced with a new one. That is, of the multiple power generation elements 1 attached to the element holder 2, the faulty power generation element 1 can be removed from the element holder 2, and a new power generation element 1 can be attached to the element holder 2 in the position where the faulty power generation element 1 was attached. The above-mentioned correspondence relationship for the new power generation element 1 that has been replaced in this way may be newly determined in advance using the same method as described above, and newly stored in the processing unit 21 so as to replace the correspondence relationship for the faulty power generation element 1.

[0069] Furthermore, the power generation elements 1 attached to each position of the element holder 2 can be easily changed depending on the measurement location of the target radiation (e.g., environment or location). When changing the measurement location, the power generation elements 1 can be replaced with those having power generation characteristics that correspond to the amount of target radiation at the new measurement location. That is, all or some of the multiple power generation elements 1 on the element holder 2 used at the previous measurement location can be removed from the element holder 2, and power generation elements 1 having power generation characteristics that match the new measurement location can be attached to the element holder 2 in the positions where all or some of the elements were removed. The above-mentioned correspondences for each of the newly replaced power generation elements 1 may be newly determined in advance using the same method as described above, and stored in the processing unit 21 in place of the correspondences for the removed power generation elements 1.

[0070] (E) After forming the conversion film 11 on the film holding member 12, the film holding member 12 is attached to the power generation unit 13 so that the conversion film 11 is in close proximity (for example, in contact) with the surface of the power generation unit 13. This prevents the material of the conversion film 11 from adhering to the power generation unit 13 when the conversion film 11 is formed, thus avoiding adverse effects on the power generation unit 13 due to the formation of the conversion film 11. For example, unlike this embodiment, if the conversion film 11 made of a conductive material is formed on the surface of the solar cell (the surface of the electrode layer) by an electrostatic coating method, the conductive material may adhere to the side surface of the power generation unit 13, potentially causing a short circuit in the solar cell. Furthermore, if the conductive material is dried by heating at a predetermined temperature (for example, around 100°C) after such an electrostatic coating method to form the conversion film 11, and the power generation unit 13 does not have heat resistance, the power generation unit 13 (for example, a perovskite solar cell) may be damaged by heating.

[0071] (F) Instead of manufacturing a component consisting only of the conversion film 11, the conversion film 11 is formed on the film holding member 12, which makes it easier to form the conversion film 11.

[0072] (G) The power generator 13 is a solar cell that generates an electric current when sunlight is incident on it. The solar cell 13 can be obtained relatively cheaply and easily. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the current generator 10 can be reduced.

[0073] (Second Embodiment) Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of a plurality of power generation elements 1 in a current generator 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the matters described below differ from those of the first embodiment, while matters not described below may be the same as in the first embodiment.

[0074] Figure 5 shows only the multiple power generation elements 1 among the multiple components of the incident amount measuring device 20. For example, the base end of the aforementioned wiring 4 is connected to each of these power generation elements 1, and the tip of the wiring 4 may be provided with a terminal 4a that can be connected to the terminal 3a of the current measuring device 3, but the illustration of each wiring 4 is omitted in Figure 5.

[0075] According to the second embodiment, the multiple power generation elements 1 are arranged in a three-dimensional manner. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the multiple power generation elements 1 are arranged in a three-dimensional array. As shown in Figure 5, the multiple sheet-like or plate-like power generation elements 1 may be arranged in a three-dimensional manner with their thickness directions being the same.

[0076] In this case, two or more (three in Figure 5) power generation elements 1 that overlap each other in the thickness direction are considered as one set, and multiple sets (nine sets in Figure 5) may be arranged when viewed from the thickness direction. Furthermore, the two or more (three in Figure 5) power generation elements 1 in each set may completely overlap each other in the thickness direction. However, the two or more (three in Figure 5) power generation elements 1 in each set may partially overlap in the thickness direction.

[0077] The number of sets is not limited to nine, but can be any number of two or more. However, the number of sets may be just one. Also, the number of power generation elements 1 constituting each set can be two, three, or any other number.

[0078] Furthermore, multiple power generation elements 1 (nine power generation elements 1 in the example of Figure 5), arranged in a two-dimensional array on a single virtual plane, may be treated as a single two-dimensional array, and multiple two-dimensional arrays may be arranged in a direction perpendicular to the virtual plane such that the virtual planes of each of the multiple two-dimensional arrays are parallel to each other. In this way, as described above, two or more (three in Figure 5) power generation elements 1 that overlap each other in the thickness direction may be treated as one set, and multiple sets (nine sets in Figure 5) may be formed. Note that the number of two-dimensional arrays is not limited to three, but may be two, four or more.

[0079] <Differences in Power Generation Characteristics> As described above, for each set of power generation elements 1 that overlap each other in the thickness direction of the power generation element 1, the power generation characteristics of two or more power generation elements 1 in the set may differ from each other in relation to the same type of radiation being measured (neutrons in this embodiment). Here, the power generation characteristics are the same as those described in the first embodiment, so their explanation is omitted.

[0080] For each set of power generation elements 1 (for example, one set, each of multiple sets, or each of all sets), two or more power generation elements 1 in the set may be offset from each other such that their measurable incident amount ranges as power generation characteristics do not overlap (i.e., they do not overlap even partially).

[0081] Alternatively, for a set of power generation elements 1 (for example, one set, each of multiple sets, or each of all sets), the measurable incident amount ranges described above as power generation characteristics of two or more power generation elements 1 in the set may partially overlap. Alternatively, for a set of power generation elements 1 (for example, one set, each of multiple sets, or each of all sets), the measurable incident amount ranges described above as power generation characteristics of two or more power generation elements 1 in the set may be the same.

[0082] <When determining the amount of incident radiation to each power generation element in a set> As described above, for a set of power generation elements 1 (for example, one set, each of multiple sets, or each of all sets), if the measurable incident radiation ranges of two or more power generation elements 1 in the set do not overlap or partially overlap, the processing unit 21 may, for each of the two or more power generation elements 1 in the set, determine the amount of incident radiation to the power generation element 1 as measurement data, based on the current value corresponding to the power generation element 1 and the corresponding relationship with respect to the power generation element 1, similar to the first embodiment. Here, the measurement data may be the same as in the first embodiment (for example, measurement data including position information), so its explanation is omitted.

[0083] For each set of power generation elements 1 (for example, one set, each of multiple sets, or each of all sets), the processing unit 21 may correct the incident amount (hereinafter also referred to as the incident amount to be corrected) obtained for the second and subsequent power generation elements 1 from the side into which the target radiation is incident, obtain the corrected incident amount, and generate and output measurement data including the corrected incident amount. This correction is determined for each of the second and subsequent power generation elements 1 and corresponds to the influence (absorption, scattering, reflection, etc.) of the power generation elements 1 located on the incident side of the target radiation than the power generation element 1. This correction may be, for example, a correction that adds a correction amount to the incident amount to be corrected, or a correction that multiplies the incident amount to be corrected by a correction rate. The correction amount and correction rate may be predetermined (for example, experimentally). Also, the correction amount and correction rate may differ depending on the value of the incident amount to be corrected.

[0084] <When determining the amount of radiation incident on a set> As described above, for a set of power generation elements 1 (for example, one set, each of multiple sets, or each of all sets), if the measurable incident ranges of two or more power generation elements 1 in the set do not overlap or partially overlap, the processing device 21 may determine the amount of radiation incident on the set in the thickness direction of the power generation elements 1 based on two or more current values ​​generated by the two or more power generation elements 1 in the set and measured by the current measuring device 3, and output this as measurement data associated with the position information of the set. The output destination may be the display unit 22, the storage unit 23, etc., as in the first embodiment.

[0085] In determining the amount of radiation incident on a set in this manner, the processing unit 21 may determine the amount of radiation incident on each of the two or more power generation elements 1 in the set based on the current value generated by the power generation element 1 and measured by the current measuring device 3, and the corresponding relationship of the power generation element 1 (the same as the corresponding relationship in the first embodiment). The sum of these incident amounts for each of the two or more power generation elements 1 in the set may be determined as the amount of radiation incident on the set. Here, the processing unit 21 may also determine the amount of radiation incident on the second and subsequent power generation elements 1 from the side into which the radiation is incident in the set by correcting the amount of radiation incident after correction using the same method as described above (for example, the correction amount or correction rate described above), and the sum of the amount of radiation incident on the second and subsequent power generation elements 1 and the amount of radiation incident on the first power generation element 1 from the side into which the radiation is incident as described above may be determined as the amount of radiation incident on the set.

[0086] As described above, the multiple power generation elements 1 arranged in three dimensions may be held by an element holder. The element holder may be as described in Configuration Example 1 or Configuration Example 2, but is not limited to these.

[0087] <Example of Element Holder Configuration 1> Figure 6 shows an element holder 2A according to Configuration Example 1. The element holder 2A may be a molded resin that integrates multiple power generation elements 1 with each other. That is, multiple power generation elements 1 arranged three-dimensionally are embedded within the molded resin 2A. The molded resin 2A is a material through which target radiation can pass without substantially attenuation.

[0088] Figure 6 shows the molded resin 2A with a dashed line. In Figure 6, the wiring 4 and the wires described later are not shown. A molded body in which multiple power generation elements 1 are integrated with each other using molded resin 2A may be formed, for example, as follows.

[0089] First, multiple power generation elements 1, each with a pre-connected base end of wiring 4, are arranged three-dimensionally within the mold. In this state, gaps are ensured between adjacent power generation elements 1, allowing molten resin to flow in. Each of the multiple power generation elements 1 arranged in the mold in this manner may be supported by appropriate support means. The support means may be a wire (for example, a thin wire). For example, one end of the wire is fixed to the end of each power generation element 1 (for example, with adhesive, or by passing the wire through a small hole provided at the end of each power generation element 1), and the other end of the wire is fixed to a predetermined location (for example, to the inner surface of the mold with adhesive or adhesive tape). Then, molten resin (for example, acrylic resin) is poured into the mold, and the resin is allowed to solidify within the mold, thereby obtaining a molded body of multiple power generation elements 1 arranged three-dimensionally and integrated by mold resin 2A.

[0090] The wiring 4 connected to each of the multiple power generation elements 1 extends to the outside of the molded body, and the terminals 4a at the ends of the wiring 4 can be connected to the terminals 3a of the current measuring device 3 outside the molded body.

[0091] <Example 2 of Element Holder Configuration> Figure 7 shows an element holder 2B according to Configuration Example 2. The element holder 2B has a plurality of element holders 2 from the first embodiment. Figure 7 is a side view of each sheet-like or plate-like element holder 2 as seen from a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction. In Figure 7, the wiring 4 is not shown.

[0092] In Configuration Example 2, multiple power generation elements 1 arranged in three dimensions may be constructed by stacking multiple element holders 2, each in which multiple power generation elements 1 are arranged and mounted two-dimensionally, as in the first embodiment, in the thickness direction, as shown in Figure 7. The material and thickness of the element holder 2 are set so that the target radiation can pass through without substantially attenuation. Each element holder 2 and the multiple power generation elements 1 attached to it have the same configuration as the element holder 2 and multiple power generation elements 1 in the first embodiment. For example, each power generation element 1 is detachably attached to each element holder 2, similar to the first embodiment.

[0093] As described above, the stacked element holders 2 may be connected to each other (for example, in a way that allows them to be detached from one another). This allows the multiple power generation elements 1 arranged in three dimensions to be integrated together with the multiple element holders 2. For example, the outer edges of the stacked element holders 2 may be connected to each other with removable adhesive tape T, as shown in Figure 7.

[0094] (Effects of the second embodiment) According to the second embodiment, the effects (A) to (G) of the first embodiment described above can be obtained, and furthermore, the following effect (H) can be obtained.

[0095] (H) Two or more power generation elements 1, each having different (or the same) power generation characteristics, are formed in a sheet or plate shape and are arranged to overlap each other in the thickness direction of the power generation elements 1. Therefore, when the target radiation is incident in the thickness direction, a wide measurement range of the incident amount can be achieved for each location (each set of power generation elements 1 as described above) when viewed from that thickness direction.

[0096] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention. For example, the current generating device 10 or the incident amount measuring device 20 according to the embodiments of the present invention does not have to have all of the above-described items, and may have only some of the above-described items.

[0097] Furthermore, to the extent that at least some of the above-mentioned problems can be solved, or to the extent that at least some of the effects described herein can be obtained, one or more of the claims and components described herein can be omitted, or any combination of the claims and components described herein is possible.

[0098] Furthermore, you may adopt any of the following modification examples 1 to 4 individually, or you may adopt any combination of two or more of modification examples 1 to 4. In this case, the points not mentioned below are the same as those described above.

[0099] (Modification Example 1) Figure 8 is a perspective view illustrating the arrangement of multiple power generation elements 1A and 1B in the current generator 10 according to Modification Example 1. According to this Modification Example 1, the multiple power generation elements 1 constituting the current generator 10 include a first power generation element 1A and a second power generation element 1B arranged on top of each other. In the example of Figure 8, multiple sets are provided, with the overlapping first and second power generation elements 1A and 1B forming one set. That is, the multiple power generation elements 1 constituting the current generator 10 may be multiple sets of first and second power generation elements 1A and 1B.

[0100] In each set, the first and second power generation elements 1A and 1B may be formed in the form of a sheet or plate, and the first and second power generation elements 1A and 1B may overlap each other in the thickness direction such that their thickness directions are the same. In this case, multiple sets may be arranged along a virtual plane or virtual curved surface (for example, in an array) so that they are adjacent to each other in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction. Furthermore, the first and second power generation elements 1A and 1B of each set may completely overlap each other in the thickness direction.

[0101] In each pair, the first power generation element 1A generates an electric current regardless of whether it is incident on the first or second radiation target, which are of different types. The second power generation element 1B does not generate an electric current when incident on the first radiation target, but generates an electric current when incident on the second radiation target. Here, in one example, the first radiation target may be neutrons, and the second radiation target may be gamma rays. However, the combination of the first radiation target and the second radiation target is not limited to this. In each pair, the first power generation element 1A may be positioned on the side from which the target radiation is incident (i.e., in front of) the second power generation element 1B.

[0102] The first power generation element 1A may include the above-mentioned conversion film 11 that converts incident radiation (neutrons) of a target to be measured into another type of radiation, a film holding member 12 on which the conversion film 11 is formed, and a power generator 13 that generates an electric current when another type of radiation is incident on it. Here, in the first power generation element 1A, the film holding member 12 is attached to the power generator 13 such that the conversion film 11 is in close proximity (for example, in contact with) the surface of the power generator 13.

[0103] The second power generation element 1B may consist only of the power generation body 13, out of the conversion film 11, film holding member 12, and power generation body 13 that constitute the first power generation element 1. In other words, the second power generation element 1 may consist only of the power generation body 13 and may not have the conversion film 11 or the film holding member 12.

[0104] In this modification example 1, the processing unit 21 performs the following processing for each set.

[0105] The processing unit 21 determines the amount of radiation incident on the first power generation element 1A (total amount of radiation incident on the first and second target) based on the value of the current generated by the first power generation element 1A, and defines this as the first incident amount. In this regard, for the first power generation element 1A, the relationship between each value of the first incident amount and the value of the current generated by the first power generation element 1A in that case (hereinafter simply referred to as the first correspondence relationship) is predetermined experimentally and stored in the processing unit 21. The processing unit 21 may determine the first incident amount based on the value of the current generated by the first power generation element 1A and the first correspondence relationship. Note that the value of the current generated by the first power generation element 1 is the value measured by the current measuring device 3.

[0106] Similarly, the processing unit 21 determines the amount of radiation incident on the second power generation element 1B as the second incident amount, based on the value of the current generated by the second power generation element 1B. In this regard, for the second power generation element 1B, the relationship between each value of the second incident amount and the value of the current generated by the second power generation element 1B in that case (hereinafter simply referred to as the second correspondence relationship) is predetermined experimentally and stored in the processing unit 21. The processing unit 21 may determine the second incident amount based on the value of the current generated by the second power generation element 1B and the second correspondence relationship. Note that the value of the current generated by the second power generation element 1B is the value measured by the current measuring device 3.

[0107] Furthermore, the processing unit 21 calculates the amount of first target radiation incident on the group (hereinafter also referred to as the third incident amount) by subtracting the second incident amount from the first incident amount. This allows the amount of first target radiation incident on the group to be determined with high sensitivity. The processing unit 21 may output the third incident amount obtained for each group as measurement data (for example, in real time).

[0108] The processing unit 21 may store position information indicating the position of each set. Based on the stored position information, the processing unit 21 may generate measurement data that includes the third incident amount for each set determined as described above, and the position information of the set. In this measurement data, the third incident amount for each set is associated with the position information of the set (i.e., the position information of the set of first and second power generation elements 1A and 1B that generated the current of the value used to determine the third incident amount).

[0109] Furthermore, the processing unit 21 may have a time measurement unit (e.g., a timer) that measures the elapsed time from a reference point, and for each measured elapsed time, it may determine the third incident amount for each set as described above, and generate and output measurement data that associates the elapsed time and the third incident amount with each other. This measurement data may include the position information of the sets described above. In this case, in the measurement data, for each set, the third incident amount at each elapsed time is associated with the position information corresponding to that set.

[0110] The output destinations for the measurement data described above may be, for example, the display unit 22 and the storage unit 23. In this modified example 1, the number of sets is not limited to nine, but may be any number of two or more, or it may be just one.

[0111] In this modified example 1, the element holder that holds multiple sets of first and second power generation elements 1A, 1B may be a molded resin 2A that integrates multiple sets of first and second power generation elements 1A, 1B with each other, similar to the configuration example 1 in the second embodiment. That is, multiple sets of first and second power generation elements 1A, 1B arranged three-dimensionally with each other may be embedded within the molded resin 2A.

[0112] Alternatively, in this modified example 1, the element holder that holds multiple sets of first and second power generation elements 1A and 1B may be constructed by stacking element holders 2, on which multiple first power generation elements 1A are arranged and mounted two-dimensionally, and element holders 2, on which multiple second power generation elements 1B are arranged and mounted two-dimensionally, in the thickness direction, similar to the configuration example 2 in the second embodiment. As described above, each first power generation element 1A overlaps with the corresponding second power generation element 1B, thereby constructing the multiple sets of first and second power generation elements 1 described above. Each element holder 2 and the first or second power generation elements 1A and 1B attached to the element holder 2 have the same configuration as the element holder 2 and multiple power generation elements 1 in the first or second embodiment. For example, each first or second power generation element 1A and 1B are detachably attached to each element holder 2, similar to the first or second embodiment.

[0113] The two stacked element holders 2 may be connected to each other (for example, in a way that allows them to be detached from one another). For example, the outer edges of multiple stacked element holders 2 may be connected to each other with removable adhesive tape T, as in the case of Figure 7.

[0114] (Modification Example 2) In the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or modification example 1 described above, the radiation to be measured was neutrons in the above example, but may be gamma rays, X-rays, electron beams, or ion beams (helium ions). In this case, the second power generation element 1B may be a power generation body 13 (for example, a solar cell), and may not have a conversion film 11 and a film holding member 12.

[0115] Furthermore, when applying this modified example 2 to the second embodiment described above, the radiation measured by the multiple power generation elements 1 constituting each of the above-described sets may be of the same type.

[0116] (Example of modification 3) The element holders 2, 2A, or 2B may be omitted. In this case, the multiple power generation elements 1 may be attached to a structure at the site where the target radiation is measured.

[0117] (Example of modification 4) Some or all of the multiple power generation elements 1 (or the multiple sets of first and second power generation elements 1A, 1B) constituting the current generator 10 may have different areas and / or shapes when viewed from the thickness direction of the power generation elements 1, 1A, 1B. In this case, for example, when viewed from the thickness direction of the power generation elements 1, 1A, 1B, the area of ​​the power generation element 1, 1A, 1B with a relatively narrow measurable incident amount range per unit area may be larger than the area of ​​the power generation element 1, 1A, 1B with a relatively wide measurable incident amount range per unit area (compared to the power generation element 1, 1A, 1B with a relatively narrow measurable incident amount range). In this way, the measurable incident amount range (as a whole) of the power generation elements 1, 1A or 1B can be adjusted.

[0118] 1. Power generation element 1A. First power generation element 1B. Second power generation element 2. Element holder 2A. Element holder 2a. Surface 3. Current measuring device 3a. Terminal 4. Wiring 4a. Terminal 5. Display unit 10. Current generator 11. Conversion film 12. Film holder 13. Power generation element 13a. Light absorption layer 13b. Electrode layer 13c. Electrode layer 20. Incidence amount measuring device 21. Processing device 22. Display unit 23. Memory unit T. Adhesive tape

Claims

1. A current generating device that generates a current corresponding to the amount of incident radiation to be measured, comprising a plurality of power generation elements arranged side by side, wherein each power generation element generates a current corresponding to the amount of incident radiation to be measured that corresponds to that power generation element.

2. The current generating device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of power generating elements include two or more power generating elements with different power generation characteristics.

3. The current generating device according to claim 2, wherein the power generation characteristics for each of the two or more power generating elements are within the range of incident amounts in which the power generating element generates a current that changes according to the incident amount of radiation to be measured.

4. The current generating device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the two or more power generation elements, each having different power generation characteristics, are formed in the shape of a sheet or plate, and are arranged to overlap each other in the thickness direction of the power generation elements.

5. The current generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of power generation elements are arranged in two dimensions or three dimensions.

6. The current generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising an element holder for holding the plurality of power generating elements arranged in two or three dimensions.

7. The current generating device according to claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of power generation elements is detachably attached to the element holder.

8. The current generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein all or some of the plurality of power generating elements comprise a conversion film that converts incident radiation of a target to be measured into another type of radiation, a film holding member on which the conversion film is formed, and a power generating body that generates an electric current when the other type of radiation is incident on it, and in the power generating element, the film holding member is attached to the power generating body such that the conversion film is in close proximity to the surface of the power generating body.

9. The current generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a current measuring device for measuring the values ​​of multiple currents generated by the multiple power generating elements.

10. The current generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the radiation to be measured is neutrons, gamma rays, X-rays, electron beams, or ion beams.

11. An incident amount measuring device comprising: a current generating device according to claim 9; and a processing device that determines a plurality of incident amounts of radiation to be measured corresponding to the plurality of currents based on the plurality of current values ​​measured by the current measuring device.

12. The apparatus generates measurement data including the obtained plurality of incident amounts and position information of the plurality of power generation elements, wherein in the measurement data, each of the plurality of incident amounts is associated with the position information corresponding to the incident amount, as described in claim 11.

13. The plurality of power generation elements include first and second power generation elements arranged in overlapping order, the first power generation element generates a current regardless of whether the radiation of the first target to be measured or the radiation of the second target to be measured is incident on it, the second power generation element does not generate a current when the radiation of the first target to be measured is incident on it, but generates a current when the radiation of the second target to be measured is incident on it, the processing device determines the incident amounts of the radiation of the first target to be measured and the radiation of the second target to be measured as the first incident amount based on the value of the current generated by the first power generation element, determines the incident amount of the radiation of the second target to be measured as the second incident amount based on the value of the current generated by the second power generation element, and determines the value obtained by subtracting the second incident amount from the first incident amount as the incident amount of the radiation of the first target to be measured, the incident amount measuring device according to claim 11.

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