A high resolution Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectrometer for environmental monitoring

High resolution Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectrometer is a versatile analytical instrument finding applications in many areas of environmental studies. In this paper, one such spectrometer incorporating a 4096 channel pulse height analyser for data reduction and a programmable calculator for data processing is described. Some important specifications and performance figures such as resolution, peak to Compton ratio and detection efficiency at various energies measured are also reported. Gamma-ray spectra of standards and samples can be stored on a 7 track magnetic tape. Any one of the stored spectra can be selected and displayed on an interactive C.R.T. After marking all the peaks of interest, the programmable calculator is used to compute the energy and intensity of the marked peaks. (author)