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Detection and Measurement of Nuclear Radiation (1962)

Chapter: Front Matter

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1962. Detection and Measurement of Nuclear Radiation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18670.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1962. Detection and Measurement of Nuclear Radiation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18670.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1962. Detection and Measurement of Nuclear Radiation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18670.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1962. Detection and Measurement of Nuclear Radiation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18670.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1962. Detection and Measurement of Nuclear Radiation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18670.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1962. Detection and Measurement of Nuclear Radiation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18670.
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COMMITTEE ON NUCLEAR SCIENCE L. F. CURTISS. Chairman National Bureau ol Standards J. A. DeJUREN. Secretary Westlnghouse Electric Corporation ROBLEY D. EVANS, Vice Chairman Massachusetts Institute of Technology C. J. BORKOWSK1 Oak Ridge National Laboratory ROBERT G. COCHRAN Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College SAMUEL EPSTEIN California Institute of Technology U. FANO National Bureau of Standards HERBERT GOLDSTEIN Nuclear Development Corporation of America J. W. IRVINE. JR. Massachusetts Institute of Technology E. D. KLEMA Northwestern University W. WAYNE MEINKE University of Michigan J. J. NICKSON Memorial Hospital, New York ROBERT L. PLATZMAN Laboratolre de Chlmle Physique D. M. VAN PATTER Bartol Research Foundation LIAISON MEMBERS PAUL C. AEBERSOLD Atomic Energy Commission J. HOWARD McMLLEN National Science Foundation CHARLES K. REED U. S. Air Force WILLIAM E. WRIGHT Office of Naval Research SUBCOMMITTEE ON RADIOCHEMISTRY W. WAYNE MEINKE. Chairman University of Michigan NATHAN BALLOU Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory GREGORY R. CHOPPIN Florida State University GEORGE A. COWAN Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory ARTHUR W. FAIRHALL University of Washington JEROME HUDIS Brookhaven National Laboratory EARL HYDE University of California (Berkeley) JULIAN NIELSEN Hanford Laboratories G. DAVID O'KELLEY Oak Ridge National Laboratory ELLIS P. STEINBERG Argonne National Laboratory PETER C. STEVENSON University of California (Ltvermore) DUANE N. SUNDERMAN Battelle Memorial Institute CONSULTANTS HERBERT M. CLARK Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute JOHN W. WINCHESTER Massachusetts Institute of Technology

I E C E I ¥ E 1 Jl/L I * 2007 •n IE GEORGE E. BROWN, JR LIBRARY INSTRUMENTS Detection and Measurement of Nuclear Radiation G. D. O'KELLEY Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee Issuance Date: April 1962 Subcommittee on Radiochemistry National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Printed in USX Price $1.50. Available from the Office of Technical Services, Department of Commerce, Washington 25, D. C.

QC787C6O37 1962 c.l Detection and measurement of nuclear radiation /

FOREWORD The Subcommittee on Radiochemistry is one of a number of subcommittees working under the Committee on Nuclear Science within the National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council. Its members represent government, indus- trial, and university laboratories in the areas of nuclear chemistry and analytical chemistry. The Subcommittee has concerned itself with those areas of nuclear science which involve the chemist, such as the collection and distribution of radiochemical procedures, the establishment of specifications for radiochemically pure reagents, availability of cyclotron time for service irradia- tions, the place of radlochemistry in the undergraduate college program, etc. This series of monographs has grown out of the need for up-to-date compilations of radiochemical information, pro- cedures, and techniques. The Subcommittee has endeavored to present a series which will be of maximum use to the working scientist and which contains the latest available information Each monograph collects in one volume the pertinent informa- tion required for radiochemical work with an individual element or with a specialized technique. An expert in the particular radiochemical technique has written the monograph. The Atomic Energy Commission has sponsored the printing of the series. The Subcommittee is confident these publications will be useful not only to the radiochemist but also the the research worker in other fields such as physics, biochemistry or medicine who wishes to use radiochemical techniques to solve a specific problem. W. Wayne Meinke, Chairman Subcommittee on Radiochemistry ill

PREFACE This volume on detection and measurement of nuclear radi- ation has been prepared as one of a series of monographs on radiochemical techniques which will parallel the series on radiochemistry of the elements. The material contained in this monograph represents a slight expansion of a contribution by the author to a chapter entitled "Nuclear Chemistry," for inclusion in Technique of Inorganic Chemistry, edited by H. B. Jonassen, and to be published by Interscience Publishers. It is a pleasure for the author to express his sincere appreciation to N. R. Johnson and E. Eichler, who, in addition to their responsibilities as co-authors of the Nuclear Chemistry chapter, made numerous useful suggestions during the preparation of the material included here. The author also gratefully acknowledges other members of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff for helpful discussions and criticism of the manuscript, especially R. K. Abele, J. L. Blankenship, A. Chetham-Strode, V. A. McKay, J. R. Tarrant, and F. J. Walter. Finally, the writer wishes to express his most sincere appreciation to Mrs. I. W. Hodge for typing not only the final manuscript, but several drafts as well, all with accuracy and perseverance. G. D. O'Kelley December, 1961

CONTENTS I. General Introduction 1 II. Scintillation Methods 4 1. Introduction 4 2. Electron Detection and Spectrometry 6 A. Scintillators 6 B. Detector Arrangements 9 C. Electron and Beta Spectrometry 13 3. Gamma-Ray Counting and Spectrometry 16 A. Scintillator Considerations 17 B. Mounting Sodium Iodide Crystals I"7 C. Special Counting Problems 20 D. Gamma-Ray Spectrometry 22 Interactions of Gamma Rays in Nal(Tl). . 24 Typical Gamma-Ray Spectra 27 Environmental Effects 30 Analysis of Gamma-Ray Spectra 34 Use of Computers in Gamma-Ray Analysis . 37 Determination of Gamma-Ray Intensities . 40 4. Detection of Heavy Charged Particles 44 III. lonization Chambers 45 1. lonization in Gases 45 2. Current Chambers 47 3. Pulse-Type Chambers 50 4. Design Considerations 54 5. Counting and Assay Applications . 55 6. Energy Spectra 58 IV. Semiconductor Radiation Detectors 58 1. Principles and Description 59 A. Introduction to Semiconductor Theory. ... 59

B. Production of High Fields in a Semiconductor 61 p-n Junctions 62 Surface Barriers 66 C. Collection of Charge 67 2. Fabrication Techniques 68 A. Diffused Junctions 69 B. Surface Barriers 70 C. Guard-Ring Detectors 71 3. Application to Spectrometry 72 A. Electronics 72 B. Experimental Arrangement 73 V. Gas Multiplication Counters 75 1. Introduction 75 2. Proportional Counters 78 A. Conditions for Gas Multiplication 79 B. Construction and Use 80 C. Plateau Characteristics 84 3. Geiger Counters 85 A. Mechanism of the Geiger Counter 85 B. Plateaus 86 C. Resolving Time 87 VI. Auxiliary Electronic Instrumentation 88 1. General Introduction 88 2. Amplifiers 90 A. Pulse Shaping 91 B. Noise 94 C. Window Amplifiers 95 D. Preamplifiers 96 3. Trigger Circuits 97 4. Scalers 97 A. Binary Scalers 97 B. Decimal Scalers 98 5. Counting-Rate Meters 100 6. Pulse-Height Analyzers 100 A. Single-Channel Analyzers 101 B. Multichannel Analyzers 101 7. Coincidence Measurements 105 A. Resolving Time 106 B. Electronics 107 C. Delayed Coincidence Measurements 109 D. Calculation of Intensities 109 VII. Low-Level Counting Ill 1. General Remarks Ill

2. Apparatus 112 A. Large-Volume Counters 112 B. Small-Volume Counters 114 VIII. Determination of the Disintegration Rate 114 1. Absolute Alpha Counting 115 A. General Considerations 115 B. Low-Geometry Counters 115 C. Precision, High-Geometry Counters 116 2. Absolute Beta Counting 117 A. Introduction to Beta Counting Techniques. . ny B. End-Window Counters 119 C. 2 7T Counters 119 D. 4ir Counting 120 E. Coincidence Counting 121 3. Absolute Gamma Counting 122 IX. Source Mounting 123 1. Introduction 123 2. Desiccated Sources 123 A. Evaporation from Solution 123 Metal Backing Plates 124 Very Thin Backings 125 Gamma-Ray Sources 125 B. Use of Slurries 125 C. Filtration of Precipitates 126 3. Sublimation 126 4. Electrodeposition 127 5. Sources Containing Gases 128 6. Liquid Sources 129 References 130 vii

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