Development of a stochastic detection efficiency calibration procedure for studying collimation effects on a broad energy germanium detector

ISPRA, the Italian nuclear safety regulatory body, has started a measurement campaign for validating the performances of in situ gamma-ray spectrometry based on BEGe detectors and ISOCS software. The goal of the validation program is to verify if the mathematical algorithms used by Canberra to account for collimation effects of HpGe detectors continue to work well also for BEGe detectors. This has required the development of a calibration methodology, based on MCNPX code, which, by avoiding any mathematical algorithm utilization, is purely stochastic.Experimental results obtained by such a new procedure, were generally found to be 5% of the reference values. While, in the case of gamma-ray energies greater than 400 keV and small angles collimation, results given by ISOCS software produced larger deviations, around 20%. This work presents a detailed description of the simulation procedure and of the first experimental results.