skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Design Considerations for Passive Gamma-Ray Spectrometers

Journal Article · · IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science

Passive gamma-ray spectrometers composed of attenuation filters and integrating detection materials provide important advantages for measurements in high-radiation environments and for long-term monitoring. Each of these applications has requirements that constrain the design of the instrument, such as incident energy range of interest, sensor size and weight, readout method, and cost. The multitude of parameters in passive spectrometer design (e.g. attenuation filter material and thickness, integrating sensor type, numbers of pixels, reconstructed energy bin structure) results in a large design space to examine. The development of generalized design optimization tools to interrogate this space and to identify promising spectrometer designs is discussed, particularly the methods used to rapidly calculate system transfer functions and the use of genetic algorithms for design optimization. Preliminary measurements to validate the design tools are described, and example results from early design optimization efforts are provided.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
877080
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-43538; IETNAE; NN2001000; TRN: US200608%%463
Journal Information:
IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 52, Issue 5; ISSN 0018-9499
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English