Precise relative γ-ray intensities for calibration of Ge semiconductor detectors

Determination of detection efficiency on HPGe detector for point-like and volumetric samples based on Geant4 simulations

Production of medical isotopes has recently been developed at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) in China and many aqueous samples containing produced radioisotopes at wide range of volume were generated. Evaluation of radionuclidic purity and quantification of radioactivity for these samples are of significant importance, especially for medical purpose. High purity germanium (HPGe) detectors and gamma spectrometry are widely used in radionuclidic purity evaluation due to the high energy resolution. However, radionuclidic purity assessment and determination of radioactivity cannot be accurately conducted by using the HPGe detector installed at Laboratory of Nuclear Chemistry in IMP due to the lack of competent calibration standard sources. Therefore, an efficient method based on Geant4 simulation was proposed to calculate the detection efficiency curve for samples with different geometry, composition and source-to-detector distance. A set of efficiency data measured with a point-like standard source containing multi-radionuclides was used to determine the dimension of germanium crystal and thickness of dead layers. Afterwards, a point-like and 3 volumetric standard sources (5 ml, 10 ml and 20 ml, respectively) containing 152Eu were measured at 5-50 cm source-to-detector distances. The EFFTRAN code was applied to calculate the correction factor of coincidence summing for all measurements. The full energy peak (FEP) efficiencies with energy range of 121-1408 keV were calculated and compared with the values obtained from simulations. The simulated FEP efficiency values were in good agreement with experimental results, which illustrated a satisfactory precision of the Geant4 simulations. The feasibility of obtaining detection efficiency for point-like and volumetric samples by means of Geant4 simulations was confirmed. This method can be applied to address the efficiency problem caused by sample geometry and composition.

P-type laser-doped WSe2/MoTe2 van der Waals heterostructure photodetector

Van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) based on two-dimensional (2D) materials are being studied extensively for their prospective applications in photodetectors. As the pristine WSe₂/MoTe₂ heterostructure is a type I (straddling gap) structure, it cannot be used as a photovoltaic device theoretically, although both WSe₂ and MoTe₂ have excellent photoelectric properties. The Fermi level of p-doped WSe₂ is close to its valence band. The p-doped WSe₂/MoTe₂ heterostructure can perform as a photovoltaic device because a built-in electric field appears at the interface between MoTe₂ and p-doped WSe₂. Here, a 633 nm laser was used for scanning the surface of WSe₂ in order to obtain the p-doped WSe₂. x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrical measurements verified that p-type doping in WSe₂ is produced through laser treatment. The p-type doping in WSe₂ includes substoichiometric WO_x and nonstoichiometric WSe_x. A photovoltaic device using p-doped WSe₂ and MoTe₂ was successfully fabricated. The band structure, light-matter reactions, and carrier-transport in the p-doped WSe₂/MoTe₂ heterojunction were analyzed. The results showed that this photodetector has an on/off ratio of ≈10⁴, dark current of ≈1 pA, and response time of 72 μs under the illumination of 633 nm laser at zero bias (V _ds = 0 V). The proposed p-doping method may provide a new approach to improve the performance of nanoscale optoelectronic devices.

High-Performance Photovoltaic Detector Based on MoTe2 /MoS2 Van der Waals Heterostructure

Van der Waals heterostructures based on 2D layered materials have received wide attention for their multiple applications in optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, light-emitting devices, and photodiodes. In this work, high-performance photovoltaic photodetectors based on MoTe₂ /MoS₂ vertical heterojunctions are demonstrated by exfoliating-restacking approach. The fundamental electric properties and band structures of the junction are revealed and analyzed. It is shown that this kind of photodetectors can operate under zero bias with high on/off ratio (>10⁵ ) and ultralow dark current (≈3 pA). Moreover, a fast response time of 60 µs and high photoresponsivity of 46 mA W^-1 are also attained at room temperature. The junctions based on 2D materials are expected to constitute the ultimate functional elements of nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Photon emission intensities in the decay of 108mAg and 110mAg

This study focuses on two radioisotopes of silver, (108m)Ag and (110m)Ag, characterized by a complex decay scheme. Each isotope has two disintegration modes, the isomeric transition leading to the daughter isotope ((108)Ag and (110)Ag, respectively) with a short half-life. The radioactive solution was obtained by neutron activation on silver powder enriched in (109)Ag. Gamma-spectrometry was carried out using a calibrated high purity germanium detector. The main relative photon emission intensities for both radionuclides were obtained and compared with previously published values.

Analytical efficiency curve for coaxial germanium detectors

A new semi-empirical analytical expression of gamma-ray spectrometer efficiency curves has been proposed and a method for their parameters determination has been developed. The complete curve consists of two parts, first being the basic detector characterization curve of low number of parameters and second one being a corrective curve, which adjusts the final results to the required and achievable accuracy.

Evaluation of 169Yb decay data

This evaluation of the complete decay scheme of 169Yb sums up the recent measurements carried out during an international exercise in which 11 laboratories were involved, and also takes into account other independent experiments. As a result of the numerous high-quality measurements available, the decay scheme is shown to be highly consistent. The half-life is determined to be 32.018 (5)d, and the emission probabilities of the two reference gamma lines of 198 and 307 keV are recommended to be 35.93 (12)% and 10.046 (45)%, respectively.

Determination of the emission probabilities of the principal gamma-rays for 134Cs to a high precision

While multi-gamma-ray emitting nuclides such as 75Se, 134Cs and 152Eu have reasonably well-defined decay scheme, some inconsistencies still remain. Detailed evaluations and weighted-mean analyses result in the recommendation of gamma-ray emission probabilities with small uncertainties, although significant deviations exist in the measured values. Therefore, the gamma-ray emission probabilities of 134Cs have been measured to a high precision after an extremely accurate calibration of detection efficiency. The resulting data agree extremely well with the evaluated values in IAEA-TECDOC-619 (IAEA, X-ray and gamma-ray standards for detector calibration, IAEA-TECDOC-619, IAEA, Vienna, 1991).

High accuracy measurement of the relative efficiency curve and determination of gamma-ray relative intensity for 38Cl

Relative efficiency curves were accurately determined for Ge gamma-ray detectors from measurements for radionuclides which emit two gamma-rays with essentially the same emission probabilities. The relative intensity of the 1643 and 2167 keV gamma-rays from 38Cl was determined to be 0.7496 (11) by using these highly accurate efficiency curves.

Methods of producing radionuclides for spectrometric gamma-ray sources and their standardization--2. Europium-152

The radionuclide 152Eu was produced by irradiating 151Eu2O3 or 151EuCl3 enriched to 98.9% with thermal neutrons. 152Eu was separated from rare-earth impurities by extraction chromatography on a column using 0.6 M nitric acid eluent. The specific activity of the 152Eu was 1-10 Ci/g of Eu. The impurity of the 154Eu did not exceed 0.1%. The activity standardization of 152Eu was carried out by extrapolation of 4 pi (beta, e, x)-gamma coincidences. The relative gamma-ray intensities for 28 gamma-ray energies emitted in 152Eu decay have been measured.

A partial decay scheme study of 82Rb and consequences for radiation dose measurements

Measurements of the relative emission rates of the 776 keV gamma ray, the positrons and the K x-rays in the decay of 82Rb have been repeated. This has led to the finding that the gamma ray to positron ratio is 0.1578 +/- 0.0019 and that the 776 keV gamma-ray probability per decay is (15.12 +/- 0.18)%.