Ionization quenching in LSC

Ionization quench function Q(E) introduces an important correction in the CIEMAT/NIST tracing method. In this paper we present a detailed analysis of the equations used to compute the counting efficiency of 55Fe. The counting efficiency of this radionuclide is very sensitive to the shape and values of Q(E) for this method. We demonstrate that the Birks equation and stopping power are not adequate to obtain low discrepancies between the experimental and computed efficiencies. An empirical procedure to compute accurate Q(E) functions is also given.