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05 September 2008

Answer to Question #245 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Instrumentation and Measurements — Instrument Calibration (IC)

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

I am proposing to carry out a project on the intercomparison between sodium iodide and germanium detectors and was wondering where to start, or if there are any journals/papers which can help.

The standard reference for instrumentation would be Glenn Knoll's Radiation Detection and Measurement, John Wiley & Sons, 1979. Unfortunately, it can be hard to identify in Knoll, or anywhere else, what the key characteristics for comparison should be.

There is nothing in the literature that I know of (although I'm sure something exists somewhere) that compares and contrasts sodium iodide and germanium detectors.

Here is my list of key characteristics for comparison: cost, maintenance (e.g., liquid nitrogen), resolution, precision, susceptibility to gain shifts, efficiency, MDCs, and count rate capability.

Don't forget that some of the needed information can be obtained from the various manufacturers and distributors of spectroscopy equipment. See the Health Physics Society Web site. Go to "Who We Are" and then "Affiliates."

Paul Frame, PhD, CHP

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