Review of alpha-spectrometric measurements of actinides

At present the silicon surface-barrier detector is the most frequently used alpha-particle detector, mainly because of its high-energy resolution, excellent stability, low background, and low cost. In this presentation, various parameters of importance for alpha spectrometry are discussed, such as energy resolution and interval selection, energy calibration, background, and peak tailing. Examples of α-spectra, recorded from various actinides (Th, U, Np, Pu, Am, and Cm), that were separated from environmental samples are shown; the choice of yield determinants are discussed for each case