Routine Surveys for Gamma-Ray Background Characterization

Author

Aucott, T.J. ; Bandstra, M.S. ; Negut, V. ; Chivers, D.H. ; Cooper, R.J. ; Vetter, K.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Nucl. Eng., Univ. of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

Volume

60

Issue

2

fYear

2013

fDate

Apr-13

Firstpage

1147

Lastpage

1150

Abstract

In gamma-ray spectroscopy and imaging, the natural gamma-ray background can significantly reduce detection sensitivity, especially when the source is weak and the background varies substantially. This project aims to systematically measure and characterize the spatial and temporal variations of the background in order to assess their impact on detection sensitivity and specificity for homeland security applications. An extensive survey of typical backgrounds found in the San Francisco bay area was performed, and initial measurement results are presented here.

Keywords

gamma-ray detection; gamma-ray spectroscopy; national security; semiconductor counters; San Francisco bay area; background spatial variation characterization; background spatial variation systematic measurement; background temporal variation characterization; background temporal variation systematic measurement; detection sensitivity reduction; gamma-ray background characterization routine surveys; gamma-ray imaging; gamma-ray spectroscopy; homeland security applications; initial measurement results; natural gamma-ray background; typical background extensive survey; Bridges; Cameras; Detectors; Energy resolution; Gamma-rays; Mobile communication; Gamma-ray detection; radiation source search; semiconductor radiation detectors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TNS.2013.2251355

Filename

6496304