Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Varnell, Larry S..
Gamma-ray instrument developed to enable both two-dimensional imaging at relatively high spatial resolution and spectroscopy at fractional-photon-energy resolution of about 10 to the negative 3rd power in photon-energy range from 10 keV to greater than 10 MeV. In its spectroscopic aspect, instrument enables identification of both narrow and weak gamma-ray spectral peaks.
Externally segmented coaxial detectors are fabricated for high efficiency in detecting gamma rays from cosmic sources with good sensitivities. The external background is reduced by enclosing the Ge detector array inside a thick active shield. The outer electrode of the coaxial detectors is subdivided into five segments, and internal beta activity is rejected by operating the segmented detector in a multisegment mode. The multisegment mode requires that events be detected in two or more segments before they are recorded. The full-energy-peak (FEP) efficiency of the unit is tested as a function of the incident gamma-ray energy and of the discriminator threshold of the segments. Measurements of beta-rejection and FEP efficiency are compared with Monte Carlo calculations, and good agreement is noted.
The effectiveness of a segmented Ge detector in rejecting background events due to the beta decay of internal radioactivity is demonstrated by a laboratory experiment in which radioactivity was produced in the detector by neutron irradiation. A Cf-252 source of neutrons was used to produce, by neutron capture on Ge-74 in the detector itself, Ge-75, which decays by beta emission with a maximum energy of 1188 keV. Simultaneous spectra are taken of the activity in the detector under two conditions: a free spectrum in which all events in the detector are accumulated, and a gated spectrum in which events are accumulated only if they deposit energy in two or more segments. A comparison of the spectra shows that over 85 percent of the beta events are rejected, which is in good agreement with predictions.