Evaluating the intensity of the 803-keV γ ray of 210Po using a 4παβ(LS)-γ(HPGe) measurement system

O Aviv; S Nissim; M Brandis; Z Yungrais; L Weissman; A Shor; E Gilad

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110891

Evaluating the intensity of the 803-keV γ ray of ²¹⁰Po using a 4παβ(LS)-γ(HPGe) measurement system

Appl Radiat Isot. 2023 Sep:199:110891. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110891. Epub 2023 Jun 1.

Authors

O Aviv¹, S Nissim², M Brandis³, Z Yungrais³, L Weissman³, A Shor³, E Gilad⁴

Affiliations

¹ Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne, 818000, Israel. Electronic address: oferav@soreq.gov.il.
² Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne, 818000, Israel; Unit of Nuclear Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 8410501, Israel.
³ Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne, 818000, Israel.
⁴ Unit of Nuclear Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 8410501, Israel. Electronic address: gilade@bgu.ac.il.

PMID: 37285756
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110891

Abstract

The absolute intensity for the 803-keV γ ray of ²¹⁰Po was evaluated by α-γ coincidence technique. A liquid sample with a known amount of ²¹⁰Po embedded in scintillation fluid was measured in a coincidence-based system that comprises a Liquid Scintillator (LS) detector and a High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. A photo-reflector assembly that contains the ²¹⁰Po sample provides 100% efficiency for detecting the α particles. The combination between the HPGe and the LS detectors allows to reject non-coincident α-γ events while maintaining high resolution γ spectroscopy. Consequently, the faint 803-keV photopeak from ²¹⁰Po could be observed in a background-free environment, and its intensity could be evaluated with good accuracy. Sample measurements were carried out over nine months to gather statistics and verify the reliability of the experimental procedure. The absolute intensity of the 803-keV line was found to be (1.22 ± 0.03) × 10^-5, in excellent agreement with the adopted value in a recent data compilation and consistent with previous experimental works.

Keywords: (210)Po; Gamma-ray intensity; Gamma-ray spectrometry; HPGe detector; LSC.