The application of computer techniques to instrumental neutron activation analysis. Chapter 3

The application of computers to γ-spectrometry can be separated into four main sections. The first deals with the acquisition of the data, when one merely uses the very high speed of the computer in its real-time application domain. The second makes use of the extensive arithmetic and logic programming facilities of the computer in order to operate on the data at the end of the measurement, and to perform what is now generally termed data reduction. A third application is the qualitative analysis of γ-spectra, requiring a library file on magnetic tape or disc with hundreds to thousands of γ-energies that have to be scanned in order to identify the peak energies resulting from the data reduction of a spectrum. The fourth application deals with complete activation analysis programs that routinely perform all calculations, starting from the original spectra of samples and standards down to the final completely corrected concentration values. (author)