SOFTWARE AT MOBILE SPECTROMETER WITH CZT-DETECTOR

The technology is based on a semiconductor CdZnTe-portable (almost the size of a mobile phone) gamma-ray spectrometer with high resolution, which provides high efficiency of rapid identification of radionuclides and assessment of radiation dose from low to moderately high levels. The CdZnTe gamma-ray spectrometer is a highly efficient device based on the use of CdZnTe (CZT) semiconductor detectors operating at room temperature with very low power consumption, a digital multichannel analyzer, and a microcomputer. CdZnTe-portable spectrometer is a self-contained device and consists of three modules - a detector module, a multichannel analyzer, and a microcomputer. The detector module contains a high-quality CdZnTe detector, a preamplifier, and a high voltage power supply for the detector. There are detector modules with different volumes of the CZT detector from 5 mm3 to 1600 mm3. It is possible to use a multi-detector system. The analyzer module contains an amplifier, a digital signal processor, a low voltage power supply, and a computer interface. The microcomputer software interacts with the multichannel analyzer, analyzes gamma spectra, and provides the accumulation of time profiles of the dose of gamma radiation, communication with other information systems. Spectrometric measurements in real-time make it possible to use "electronic collimation" technologies to build a map of the radiation field and localize sources of ionizing radiation, with the subsequent certification of identified sources, creation of an effective radiation monitoring system with the functions of certification of ionizing sources radiation. The corresponding software allows you to solve the following tasks – building a three-dimensional map of the fields of ionizing radiation of various degrees of spatial detailing, taking into account the radiation energy, localization, and certification of gamma radiation sources. The special laboratory kit is based on μSPEC microspectrometers. A LattePanda single board computer is used to control the operation of spectrometers, collect and analyze data. LattePanda – A Windows 10 Computer with integrated Arduino. This explains the choice of LattePanda. Windows 10 application allows you to use the WinSPEC software to control the multichannel analyzer operation supplied with the spectrometer. The built-in Arduino allows you to remote control the movement of the radiation source during laboratory experiment. Both the traditional problems of calibrating spectrometers (energy calibration and efficiency curves), including those for various source geometries, processing the measured spectra using standard programs, calculating the activity of sources, and the problem of creating a spectra processing program and a spectrometer control program are considered. The values of the minimum detectable activity are given.

Response to Neutrons and γ-rays of Two Liquid Scintillators

UltimaGoldTM AB and OptiphaseTrisafe are two liquid scintillators made by Perkin Elmer and EG & G Company respectively. Both are commercially promoted as scintillation detectors for α and β particles. In this work, the responses to γ-rays and neutrons of UltimaGoldTM AB and OptiphaseTriSafe liquid scintillators, without and with reflector, have been measured aiming to use these scintillators as γ-rays and neutron detectors. Responses to γ-rays and neutrons were measured as pulse shape spectra in a multichannel analyzer. Scintillators were exposed to gamma rays produced by 137Cs, 54Mn, 22Na and 60Co sources. The response to neutrons was obtained with a 241AmBe neutron source that was measured to 25 and 50 cm from the scintillators. The pulse height spectra due to gamma rays are shifted to larger channels as the photon energy increases and these responses are different from the response due to neutrons. Thus, UltimaGoldTM AB and OptiphaseTrisafe can be used to detect γ-rays and neutrons.