UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS

DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS

NUCLEAR DETECTORS AND

RADIATION TECHNIQUES

Assignment on

“Gamma Ray Spectroscopy

&
Time to Amplitude Converter”

Submitted by,
S. Madhavamoorthi. B.Sc.,
Roll No.: 34419012,
I M.Sc. Physics,
Department of Nuclear Physics,
University of Madras, Guindy,
Dated 2nd January 2020.
 Gamma Ray Spectroscopy
Introduction
Gamma Ray Spectroscopy is a technique involved in detecting Gamma Rays
using the Spectrum obtained from Spectrometer. Geiger-Muller counter is used to
count rates of radiation, while Gamma Ray Spectroscopy has the ability to determine
both the count rate and the energy of the radiations. A Gamma Spectrum is created
by taking measurements of emitted gamma rays and processing them. A detector
could identify an unknown radio isotope by identifying features on the Gamma
Spectrum and comparing them to known spectra. Here we are going to learn certain
parameters and techniques involved in Gamma Ray Spectroscopy.
Gamma Ray
Gamma Rays have the highest energy of all the waves in the electromagnetic
spectrum. They are the most penetrating waves because of their high penetrating
power. Gamma Particles do not deflect by electric or magnetic fields. Gamma rays
travel with velocity of light. γ - rays can penetrate through several centimetres of Iron
and Lead sheets. Since Gamma particles have no charge, their ionizing power is very
less when is compared with other radiations. But if γ – rays fall on metallic surface it
will knock out electrons from the surface and produce heat.
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of interaction between matter and electromagnetic
radiation. The basic principle of spectroscopic techniques involves shining a beam of
electromagnetic radiation onto a sample and observe its response. This technique is
involved in physical and analytical chemistry as atoms and molecules have unique
spectra. Hence, these spectra are used to detect, identify and quantify information
about the constituents of particles or substances. Each natural element has a
characteristic light spectrum that helps identify it in samples of unknown substances.
Theory of Gamma Ray Spectroscopy:
Detecting γ – rays and X – rays is not a direct process. X-ray and γ – ray photons
don’t have any intrinsic charge and therefore do not create ionization or excitation of
the medium it is passing through directly. Thus, the measurement of these photons is
dependent on their interaction with the electrons of the medium. The incident
photons will create fast electrons. These electrons will have a maximum energy that is
equal to the energy of the incident γ-ray on that electron.
There are three manners in which the photon will interact with the medium
(substance under Gamma Ray Spectroscopy):

Photoelectric absorption and

emission

Compton Scattering

Pair production

A detector needs to have a couple of specific functions:

• The probablity of interaction of

i incident gamma-ray with the medium
should be high.
• It should accurately detect the fast
ii
electrons that are created.
Advantage of γ-ray spectroscopy over other radiation detectors:
➢ The gas filled detectors that have been used in the laboratory thus far are
ineffective at detecting γ-rays due to lower stopping power of gases.
➢ The most important advantages over other type detectors are,
⃰ substantially better energy resolution,
⃰ linear response over a large energy range,
⃰ fast time response,
⃰ relative simplicity of operation.
[Activation analysis technique is one area of application in which the higher
resolution capability of these detectors is fully exploited]
Gamma Ray Interactions:

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
Photoelectric effect

dominant region Pair production

120
Z 100 dominant region
80
60 Compton effect
40
20 dominant region
I I I I IIIII I I I III I I I I I I I I IIII
0.01 0.05 0.1 0.5 1 5 10 50 100
E(eV)

Photoelectric Absorption:
The incident photon disappears and a photoelectron is produced from one of
the electron shells of the absorber. The K.E. that this electron carries off is Ee= hγ-Eb,
where Eb is the binding energy of the liberated electron in its original shell. This
empty spot is quickly filled by electron rearrangement. This process causes the
binding energy to be liberated as well. This energy is liberated in the form of
characteristic X-ray or an Auger Electron.

Ee= hγ-Eb
hγ

The photoelectric absorption interaction is the ideal interaction for gamma-ray

spectroscopy. The photoelectron carries away most of the gamma-ray energy and then
an X-ray or Auger electron carries away the remaining kinetic energy. Assuming an
ideal detector, the sum of these energies will equal the energy of the original γ-ray.
As we are interested in studying the energies of the various γ-rays that are
emitted by a source, this is a desired way.

dN/dE

hν
Compton Scattering:
The Scattering of a γ-ray off a free or unbound e-, thus creating a scattered γ-ray
photon and a recoil e-. The energy of the incoming photon is divided between the
scattered photon and the recoil nucleus by a relationship that is dependent on the
angle of scattering. The energy of the recoil electron is given by the relation,
𝐸 = ℎ𝜈 − ℎ𝜈 ′
ℎ𝜈
2 ℎ𝜈
𝐸 = ℎ𝜈( 𝑚𝑐 )/(1 + ( 2 ) (1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃))
(1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃) 𝑚𝑐
i) when θ≈0, the scattered photon retains all of its energy and the recoil
electron gains no energy;
ii) when θ=Π, the incident γ-ray is backscattered and the recoil electron moves
along the incident direction.
The maximum energy transfer between the incoming γ-ray and the electron occurs in
this case.
θ=0 θ=Π

dN/dE
Compton
Edge

E
In the detector, all scattering angles from 0 to Π occurs. Because of this, a
continuum of energies can be transferred to the electron. This continuum can be seen
above. This energy has a maximum predicted value. This shows that for any one
specific γ-ray energy, the electron energy distribution has the general shape.
In actual detectors, the binding energy of electrons will actually alter the shape
of the Compton continuum.
Pair Production:
γ-ray that turns into an electron-positron pair termed as pair production. When
γ-ray is in the intense electric field near the nuclei of the absorbing material. There is
a minimum amount of gamma-ray energy that is required for this purpose to take
place. This minimum energy is the mass of the electron-positron pair, 2mc2.
Therefore, from conservation of K.E. gives,
𝐸(𝑒 −) + 𝐸(𝑒 +) = ℎ𝜈 − 2𝑚𝑐 2
Where c is the velocity of light, m is the rest mass of electron, ν is the frequency of
incident radiation.
 It will annihilate when it comes into contact with an electron, which are very
abundant. Upon annihilation, two 0.511 MeV photons will be released back into the
system. This process will happen quite quickly and will appear to be in coincidence
with the original pair production.
Response Function:
It is difficult to build a detector of large size to collect all gamma rays. Since
gamma rays often carry a lot of energy, building of such large detector is not practical
and isn’t feasible. The energy of the photon is no longer a distinct peak, but has a
whole spectrum of energies. This spectrum of energies depends on many factors.
Single energy
dN/dE peak Full energy
peak

Multiple Compton events

hν
The factors that attribute to the shape of the pulse height spectrum are,
➢ The size,
➢ The geometry and
➢ The composition of the detector.
A couple of spectrum properties that are often quoted are the photo fraction,
the ratio of the area under the photopeak to the area under the entire spectrum, and
the ratio of the area under a single or double escape peak to the area under the photo
peak.
Noises in response function:
There are several factors that complicates the spectrum that we must consider.
They are,

Secondary Electron Escape

Bremsstrahlung escape

Characteristic X-ray escape

Secondary radiations creation near source

Effects of surrounding materials

Effects of coincidence
Secondary Electron Escape:
Secondary electrons which are created by a gamma ray will also have high
energy. These particles have a high probability of penetrating the detector and leaking
out of the system. This effect will also be prevalent in detectors that are too small for
the system we are observing. This effect will distort the response function. The
Compton continuum along with other low amplitude energies will be shifted to
favour lower amplitudes. So that the photo peak will be reduced as well also it reduces
the photo fraction.
Bremsstrahlung Escape:
Bremsstrahlung photons are electromagnetic radiation that is emitted from the
decelerating charged particles. Here the charged particles are electrons emitted due
to gamma ray interaction. Production of such photons is proportional to Z2 of the
absorber. This also alters the response function in the same manner. This effect can
be minimized by using materials with low Z.
Characteristic X-ray Escape:
A characteristic X-ray is released by an absorber atom that is reabsorbed by the
atom that emitted it. If this process takes place near the detector surface, the
characteristic X-ray may escape the detector and alter the response function.
After escaping, the X-ray creates a new peak in the response function. This peak
appears a distance of the Characteristic X-ray energy away from the photo peak and is
known as the X-ray escape peak.
[This phenomena is prevalent in low energy incident photons and detectors with a
large surface to volume ratio]

dN/dE

hν
Secondary radiations created near the Source:
Secondary radiations like in β+ and β- decay that are emitted by particles that
are emitted from the source make it to the detector. They are events that are caused
by the source. For β+ and β- decay, the photon emitted upon annihilation of the
positron can also enter the detector and alter the response function.
These types of secondary radiations will increase the overall energy that is
detected in the system. These energies will be superimposed onto the response
function. The result in this is a shift of the spectrum to favour higher amplitudes.
Effects of Surrounding Materials:
The gamma rays emitted from the source will not interact within the detector,
but will interact with the materials that house the detector or any other surround
material. The additional peak in the response function is a result of the detector
absorbing the characteristic X-rays that are emitted from the surrounding materials
also due to backscattering. The peak is wider because of the broad range of energies a
backscattered photon can leave. The backscattering peak always occurs at energies of
0.25MeV or less. Also the creation of foreign annihilation photons will always cause a
significant boost to the response function at 0.51MeV.
[This yield of annihilation radiation is only a concern in systems surrounded by high
Z-materials]
Summation peaks:
It occurs when two gamma rays are emitted in quick succession, such that they
appear to be emitted instantaneously. This instantaneous emission of gamma rays is
known as coincidence. Here the detector will observe both of those energies as a one
larger energy deposited in the detector. The result of this is a peak on the spectrum
that is larger than any characteristic gamma ray. A summation peak is a prominent
peak that has the same energy as two characteristic gamma rays of the source.
Diode detectors:
Advantage:
Scintillation counters have poor radiation resolutions due to the fact that the
process of converting an incident radiation to light and then to an electrical signal is
not only long, but it is inefficient as well. Semiconductors do not have to suffer
through this laborious process, and therefore their resolution is much higher.
Theory:
The lattice of crystalline materials establishes allowed energy bands for
electrons that exist within a solid. The energy of any electron inside a pure material
must be confined to one of these bands. Certain energies are forbidden, and these are
visualized as gaps.
There are two types of bands that are of interest:
• The valence band and
• The conduction band.
The lower band known as valence band corresponds to outer shell electrons
that are bound to specific lattice sites within the crystal. The next higher lying band is
known as the conduction band and represents electrons that are free to migrate
through the crystal.
 If an electron lies in conduction band then it contributes to the overall electrical
conductivity of the material. The gap between these bands is known as the band gap.
The band gap for a semiconductor is less that the dielectric for that material. The size
of this gap is quoted as forbidden energy Eg.
If an electron gains energy of Eg or greater, then it will gain the ability to jump
up into the conduction band and then lead itself to the electrical conductivity. In a
semiconductor, the value is less that the dielectric for that material.
The excitation of an electron process not only creates an electron in the
conduction band, but it also leaves a hole in the valence band (in case of
semiconductors). The combination of these two is known as an electron hole pair. It
is analogous to the ion pairs created inside the gas filled detector in the fact they are
what is used to carry charge.
Detection:
Creating the electron hole pair is the mechanism by which the semiconductor
detects radiation. When a charged particle passes through a semiconductor, electron
hole pairs are created along the path of the charged particle. These electrons allow for
the conduction of electricity. The larger the energy of the incident particle, the more
electron-hole-pairs are formed and thus a higher pulse is the result.
High purity Germanium Semiconductor Detectors:
It is simply known as HPGe detectors. They are semiconductor detector crystals
that are manufactured from ultrapure Ge. Having high level of purity in the material,
it is desired to do the process with the depletion region.
The depletion equation is,

𝑐𝑉 1/2
𝑑=( )
𝑒𝑁
[Here e is the electronic charge, V is the reverse bias voltage applied to the
semiconductor diode and N is the net impurity concentration in the bulk
semiconductor material]
Reason for selecting Germanium:
From the equation mentioned above, lower the impurity concentration the
higher the depletion depth. Germanium is chosen for the reason that current
manufacturing techniques allow for Germanium to be refined such that the purity
concentration is as low as 1010 atoms/cm2.
At this level of impurity, a depletion depth of 10mm can be obtained with a
reverse bias voltage of less than 1000V.
Geometry:
The volume of the detector should be maximized in order to absorb as many
gamma rays as possible. So the HPGe detector has a coaxial geometry as shown below.

The lines are the electrodes connected to contact on the inside of the coaxial
and the outside of the coaxial. A potential is applied across the coaxial and a potential
is applied across the detector.
Due to geometry of the detector, electron hole pairs have to travel in
corresponding directions to get to the corresponding electrodes, depending on where
they were created. Because this collection time is not constant, the pulse shape is also
not constant as well.
Germanium Detector Construction:
The band gap of Ge is about 0.7MeV. Hence the germanium detectors are
impossible to operate at room temperature. This lack of functionality at room
temperature stems from the large thermally induced leakage current that result at
this temperature. In order to overcome this, the germanium detector is cooled to the
point where this thermal leakage no longer spoils the excellent energy detections.
This temperature happens to be 77K and is achieved through the use of liquid
nitrogen to cool this detector. The detector requires constant cooling from the liquid
nitrogen in order to maintain the great energy resolution that it has. A special
apparatus has been constructed to aid in that task.
The detector must be housed in a vacuum tight cryostat (capsule) to inhibit
thermal conductivity between the detector crystal and the surrounding air. The dewer
houses all of the liquid nitrogen and allows the Ge crystal to maintain its low
temperature.
 Time to Amplitude Converters
Many techniques had been developed in time measurement. The most common
used electronic method is multichannel time analysis, which depends on delays and
starting times. Here, events are automatically classified on multichannel time sorter.
These time sorters are of two types,
➢ Analog,
➢ Digital.
Analog conversion:
The two basic methods for analogue conversion of time to amplitude are,
1. START-STOP method:
It relates the time interval between two events to the quantity of charge loaded
on a capacitor during the period. The arrival of the first signal gates on the capacitor,
which charges at a constant rate until the arrival of the STOP signal. The total charge
collected thus forms an output signal having a height proportional to the time
difference between START and STOP signals. The capacitor is then recharged and the
next event awaited.
2. Time Overlap method:
It relates the overlap between the START and STOP signal pulses. Here the
capacitor is charged during the overlap period yielding a pulse with a height
proportional to ΔT=T-τ, where T is the full width of the pulse τ is the time interval to
be measured. This method is restricted only to periods smaller than the pulse width
T. [The method does not distinguish between which pulse arrives first.]
Digital method:
The basic principle in digital time sorters is to use the START signal to gate on a
scaler which counts a constant frequency oscillator (or clock). At the arrival of second
STOP signal, this scaler is gated off to yield a number proportional to the time
interval between the pulses.
Comparing Analog and Digital methods:
Analog techniques lead the field in time measurements up to about 10-5s.
However present-day digital techniques are superior to analogue ones for times above
10-3s, due to substantially higher precision, stability and reliability. For intermediate
delays both techniques may be used. As we have been focused on accurately
measuring the time below hundreds-microseconds, in our designing, analogue
techniques are superior to digital ones.
 Among analogue methods, the START-STOP method was selected because of its
simplicity and intrinsic ability of distinguishing between starting and stopping inputs
and measurements of the periods longer than the input pulse width.
Circuit Description:

A schematic diagram of the TAC is given above. When no input has been
received, all the switches S1, S2, and S3 are closed. As the current flowing through S1
and S2 are equal, no current flows through the capacitor C and its voltage remains
fixed. When the leading edge of the START pulse is received, S1 and S3 are opened
and the capacitor begins to be discharged with current -I.
Receiving the leading edge of the STOP pulse opens S2, effectively stopping the
capacitor from discharging. As the input impedance of the buffer is large, the
capacitor charge remains fixed until the trailing edges of the START and STOP pulses
are received simultaneously, and by closing the switches, enables the capacitor to be
charged, making the system ready to receive some other inputs.
Capacitor voltage is sampled in the output stage and a pulse having an
amplitude proportional to the time interval between the START and STOP is made.
By changing some resistors in the current source by a selector switch on the front
panel of the unit, we can change the charging current and so the conversion range,
and select the appropriate range according to the time being measured.
Characteristics of TAC:
Temperature dependence:
Temperature stability of TAC was investigated for temperatures from 0˚C to
80˚C, when the delay between the START and STOP is 10ns and the conversion range
is 5ons. The amplitude of the TAC output decreases with increasing the temperature,
but this decrease has numerous fluctuations. Only at room temperatures, the room
effect of temperature on the output variations is negligible and the TAC output is
more stable.
Linearity:
The most important characteristics of TAC is its linearity over all the conversion
ranges. But linearity in the conversion range of 50ns is the most critical.
Time resolution:
Another important characteristic of TAC is its ‘time resolution’. Time resolution
means the TAC’s ability to distinguish between two-time intervals, in which their
lengths are very close to each other. One good scale for determining the time
resolution of TAC is the FWHM of the time spectra from a radioisotope source
emitting coincident radiation.
Application:
The most important application of TAC is the discrimination of radiation
(neutron and gamma). As the neutron sources almost always have a gamma ray
background which may produce pulses with the same amplitude that the neutrons
have, they interfere with the measurement of the neutron’s energy.
But as neutron and gamma pulses from liquid scintillators are different in shape
and time characteristics, we can distinguish between them by time pickoff methods
and using a TAC. The measurements are mostly accurate and precise.
*****

References:

1. Research Note, Iranian Journal of Science & Technology, Transaction A, Vol. 33, No. A2, Shiraz University
(2009).
2. Glenn F. Knoll, Radiation Detection and Measurement. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., USA, 3rd Edition, 2000.
3. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, Nuclides and Isotopes: Chart of the Nuclides. Lockheed Martin, USA, 16th
Edition, 2002.
4. Bernard Shleien, Lester A. Slaback, Brian Kent Birky, Ed., Handbook of Health Physics and Radiological Health.
Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore MD, 3rd Edition, 1998.