Graphics based PC analysis of alpha spectra

New personal computer (PC) software performs interactive analysis of alpha spectra using EGA graphics. Spectra are collected with a commercial MCA board and analyzed using the software described in this paper. The operator is required to approve each peak integration area before analysis proceeds. Sample analysis can use detector efficiencies or spike yields or both. Background corrections are made and upper limit values are calculated when specified. Nuclide identification uses a library of up to 64 nuclides with up to 8 alpha lines for each nuclide. Any one of 32 subset libraries can be used in an analysis. Analysis time is short and is limited by interaction with the operator, not by calculation time. Utilities include nuclide library editing, library subset editing, energy calibration, efficiency calibration, and background update