A Field-Deployable Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Utilizing High Pressure Xenon
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Most nuclear materials in the nuclear energy, safeguards, arms control, and nonproliferation regimes emit gamma rays with a unique signature. Currently, two categories of spectrometers are available to evaluate these materials: (1) Semiconductors, with excellent energy resolution, which operate at cryogenic temperatures. (2) Scintillation detectors, which function at ambient temperature, but with poor energy resolution. A detector which functions for extended periods in a range of environments, with an energy resolution superior to that of a scintillation spectrometer, would have evident utility. Recently, in the research community, such a device has evolved, an ionization chamber utilizing xenon gas at very high pressure (60 atm). Its energy resolution, typically, is 20 keV for the 661 keV gamma ray of 137Cs. With high xenon density and its high atomic number (Z=54), and superior energy resolution, its sensitivity is comparable to that of a scintillator.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH00016
- OSTI ID:
- 475584
- Report Number(s):
- BNL--64053; CONF-970607--24; ON: DE97006107
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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