ATRON has developed an innovative method of calibration using an electrostatic electron accelerator with a removable X target that breaks with the use of radioactive sources.
This high-tech equipment offers wide ranges of energy and dose rate and meets the general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories according to the ISO 17025 standard, as demonstrated by our COFRAC accreditation n° 2-6778.
In addition, the irradiation conditions are fully parameterizable and are representative of the workers' exposure spectrum, giving an obvious metrological interest to the singularity of ATRON.
The beam delivered by the ATRON accelerator is connected to a primary standard, allowing the development of new ionizing radiation detectors.
The marketing of new detectors requires type testing and calibration of the device in the expected dosimetric quantity rate. Kerma in air is chosen as reference quantity and its traceability is assured by the national metrology laboratory in the field (CEA/LNE/LNHB).
A so-called transfer ionization chamber is developed by this laboratory in order to determine the kerma in air delivered by the installation and to calculate the mean conversion coefficient to the dosimetric quantities. This procedure ensures the traceability of the dosimetric quantity measured at the national reference.
The detectors thus developed may be devices sold in mass or specific detectors developed for applied and basic research.