A probabilistic γ-ray tracking method for germanium detectors

A new γ-tracking method based on the Compton-scattering probability of photons in a spectrometer composed of segmented Ge detectors has been developed and evaluated with the GEANT 3 simulation code. The performance of this probabilistic method, in terms of photopeak detection efficiency and peak-to-total ratio calculated for a 4π array composed of planar detectors, is comparable with the ones obtained with the previous γ-tracking methods. Furthermore, the algorithm has been tested successfully with single detection units of other crystal shapes. A simple application is also proposed as a peak-to-total ratio enhancer for bare segmented Ge crystals in replacement of the Compton-suppression shield.