A Small Anode Germanium (SAGe) detector was recently installed in the Shallow Underground Laboratory (SUL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The unique electrode structure and the short signal wire length in the detector guarantees superior energy resolution than traditional well detectors. The detector is inside an ultra-low background graded lead shield and is fitted with a CosmicGuardTM cosmic veto background reduction system. In this work, the capabilities of this SAGe well detection system were explored using samples with broad characteristics (a Heisenberg cube and individual samples containing (_^161)Tb and (_^140)Ba). The results demonstrate impeccable sensitivity of the system to resolve low-energy complex spectra and provide trustworthy activity estimates by correcting for cascade summing losses.
Revised: December 29, 2020 |
Published: February 1, 2021
Citation
Sharma M., and J.L. Burnett. 2021.Sensitivity and Low-Energy Response of the Small Anode Germanium Well Detector with Ceramic Insert.Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment 988.PNNL-SA-154638.doi:10.1016/j.nima.2020.164943