Flexible Threads Turn Clothing into Radiation Detectors ⚡ экспресс

Flexible optical fibers with up to 50% stretchability are presented for real-time gamma radiation dosimetry. Silicon photomultipliers are integrated via fiber thermal drawing into the core of a scintillating waveguide, enabling scintillation light detection with single-photon resolution. The fibers exhibit sensitivity to beta radiation (Sr-90, 0.5 μCi) and gamma radiation (Cs-137, Co-60, 10 μCi) over lengths up to 30 cm, with a lower detection limit estimated at 14–41 nSv/h, comparable to natural background. Combining the scintillator and detector in a single fiber eliminates length limitations due to optical losses and expands the collection cone by capturing non-waveguided modes. A sheath of tungsten wire and merino wool acts as a converter of gamma radiation into electrons, increasing detection efficiency by approximately 20%. Distributed woven matrices of such fibers open the possibility of creating large-scale, conformable fabrics for high-spatial-resolution gamma field dosimetry.