Apparatus systems and methods of sensing chemical bio-chemical and radiological agents using electrophoretic displays
View Patent ↗Caesium-137 irradiates electronic paper. An incoming gamma-ray from the Cs-137 interacts with a particle inside a micro-container by generating a recoil electron and/or a hole. Because the recoil electron physically leaves the particle, the particle is charged depending on the dose from the radiation source. And, the charge of the particles change, which results in a movement of the particles within the micro-container. After refreshing the electronic paper, a visible difference in the gray-scale can be seen. Thus, the visible difference in the gray-scale is an effect caused by the irradiation of the electronic paper, showing sensitivity to high energy radiation—thus, non-optimized electronic paper is sensitive to high energy radiation and can be used as a radiation dosimeter. In addition, electronic paper can be used for sensing chemical and bio-chemical agents, as well as detecting high energy radiation.
1. A device comprising:
a film laminated to a substrate, wherein the film comprises microcontainers containing:
a liquid;
particles comprising tungsten or CdTe; and
carbon particles;
wherein the tungsten or CdTe particles and the carbon particles are in a colloidal suspension in the liquid; and
a voltage source coupled to the film capable of applying an electric field across the film; and
a color scale indicating color changes in the film corresponding to one or more levels of exposure to gamma rays.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the particles comprising tungsten.
3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the particles comprising CdTe.
4. A method comprising:
providing a device comprising:
a film laminated to a substrate, wherein the film comprises microcontainers containing:
a liquid;
particles comprising tungsten or CdTe; and
carbon particles;
wherein the tungsten or CdTe particles and the carbon particles are in a colloidal suspension in the liquid;
a voltage source coupled to the film capable of applying an electric field across the film; and
a color scale indicating color changes in the film corresponding to one or more levels of exposure to gamma rays in an environment suspected of containing gamma rays; and
comparing the color scale to the film to determine the level of exposure to the film of gamma rays.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein a charge couple device imager is used to measure the color of the film.
6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
activating the voltage source to restore the film to its original color.