Testing of the BGO Compton-suppression detectors for gammasphere

Gammasphere, the national γ-ray facility, when completed will consist of 110 Compton-suppressed Ge detectors. The bismuth germanate (BGO) Compton-suppression detector system for each Ge detector consists of one tapered hexagonal BGO side shield and one slotted BGO back plug. Due to the geometry of the array, three types of annular shields are required. These types are referred to as B, C and D, and the array consists of 60, 30 and 20 of these units, respectively. Shield types B, C and D have a hexagonal geometry. They are divided into six optically separate sections, each with its own pair of photomultiplier tubes. Argonne assumed responsibility for the procurement and testing of the BGO Compton-suppression units. We received all detectors from the two vendors. In the past year, twenty-four of the B-type detectors were delivered to Stony Brook for evaluation tests. Since the number of crystals to test is quite large (six per detector), we involved undergraduate students working at ANL under the Department of Educational Programs (DEP) in this effort. The quality of students was excellent, and they played a major role in the performance testing of these detectors. Ninety-nine of the hexagonal side shields and 112 backplug detectors were shipped to LBL for use in Gammasphere. The remaining detectors did not meet the performance criteria when they were first delivered and tested and are either at the vendor being repaired or were returned to us for retesting. We anticipate that the remaining detectors will be ready for use in Gammasphere within the next few months