Digital Pulse-Shape Discrimination Applied to an Ultra-Low-Background Gas-Proportional Counting System: First Results

Journal Article · Wed May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 296(2):823-827

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2052-z· OSTI ID:1076668

Aalseth, Craig E.; Day, Anthony R.; Fuller, Erin S.; Hoppe, Eric W.; Keillor, Martin E.; Mace, Emily K.; Myers, A. W.; Overman, Cory T.; Panisko, Mark E.; Seifert, Allen; Warren, Glen A.; Williams, Richard M.

Abstract A new ultra-low-background proportional counter (ULBPC) design was recently developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). This design, along with an ultra-low-background counting system (ULBCS) which provides passive and active shielding with radon exclusion, has been developed to complement a new shallow underground laboratory (~30 meters water-equivalent) constructed at PNNL. After these steps to mitigate dominant backgrounds (cosmic rays, external gamma-rays, radioactivity in materials), remaining background events do not exclusively arise from ionization of the proportional counter gas. Digital pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) is thus employed to further improve measurement sensitivity. In this work, a template shape is generated for each individual sample measurement of interest, a "self-calibrating" template. Differences in event topology can also cause differences in pulse shape. In this work, the temporal region analyzed for each event is refined to maximize background discrimination while avoiding unwanted sensitivity to event topology. This digital PSD method is applied to sample and background data, and initial measurement results from a biofuel methane sample are presented in the context of low-background measurements currently being developed.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1076668
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-86923; NN2001000
• Journal Information: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 296(2):823-827, Journal Name: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 296(2):823-827
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

signal processing
pulse-shape discrimination
proportional counter
tritium
carbon-14
biofuel
low