Advances in superheated drop (bubble) detector techniques

State-of-the-art neutron dosemeters based on superheated drop (bubble) detectors are described. These are either active systems for area monitoring, which rely on the acoustical recording of drop vaporisations, or passive pen size ones for personal dosimetry, based on optical bubble counting. The technological solutions developed for the construction of robust devices for health physics applications are described with special emphasis on methods adopted to reduce mechanical shock and temperature sensitivity of the detectors. Finally, a review is given of some current research activities. In particular, a new approach to neutron spectrometry is presented which relies on the thermal effects for the definition of the response matrix of the system.