High-resolution gamma spectrometry for measurement of transuranic radionuclides: A comparison of a low axial length-to-diameter coaxial HPGe detector versus a planar HPGe detector

Abstract

A comparison of an HPGe planar detector and an HPGe coaxial detector, both with short length-to-diameter ratios, provides empirical evidence for the advantage of the coaxial configuration in measurements of actinide radionuclides. The principal advantage is related to the lower capacitance of a coaxial detector relative to that of a planar detector, both with large active frontal areas. In addition, the higher interaction probability (efficiency) of Ge versus Si underscores the advantages of Ge for measurements of samples with γ-ray energies from 5 to 200 keV (²³⁵U and²⁴¹Pu). The advantages are also dependent on the presence of other higher-energy γ-rays collimated versus diffuse-sample geometry, and (for bioassay applications) the intervening scattering mediums of bone and tissue.