Strontium iodide instrument development for gamma spectroscopy and radioisotope identification

P. R. Beck; N. J. Cherepy; S. A. Payne; E. L. Swanberg; K. E. Nelson; P. A. Thelin; S. E. Fisher; S. Hunter; B. M. Wihl; K. S. Shah; R. Hawrami; A. Burger; L. A. Boatner; M. Momayezi; K. T. Stevens; M. H. Randles; D. Solodovnikov

doi:10.1117/12.2063056

9 September 2014 Strontium iodide instrument development for gamma spectroscopy and radioisotope identification

P. R. Beck, N. J. Cherepy, S. A. Payne, E. L. Swanberg, K. E. Nelson, P. A. Thelin, S. E. Fisher, S. Hunter, B. M. Wihl, K. S. Shah, R. Hawrami, A. Burger, L. A. Boatner, M. Momayezi, K. T. Stevens, M. H. Randles, D. Solodovnikov

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9213, Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XVI; 92130N (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2063056
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2014, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Development of the Europium-doped Strontium Iodide scintillator, SrI2(Eu2+), has progressed significantly in recent years. SrI2(Eu2+) has excellent material properties for gamma ray spectroscopy: high light yield (<80,000 ph/MeV), excellent light yield proportionality, and high effective atomic number (Z = 49) for high photoelectric cross-section. High quality 1.5” and 2” diameter boules are now available due to rapid advances in SrI2(Eu) crystal growth. In these large SrI2(Eu) crystals, optical self-absorption by Eu²⁺ degrades the energy resolution as measured by analog electronics, but we mitigate this effect through on-the-fly correction of the scintillation pulses by digital readout electronics. Using this digital correction technique we have demonstrated energy resolution of 2.9% FWHM at 662 keV for a 4 in3 SrI₂(Eu) crystal, over 2.6 inches long. Based on this digital readout technology, we have developed a detector prototype with greatly improved radioisotope identification capability compared to Sodium Iodide, NaI(Tl). The higher resolution of SrI₂(Eu) yields a factor of 2 to 5 improvement in radioisotope identification (RIID) error rate compared to NaI(Tl).

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P. R. Beck, N. J. Cherepy, S. A. Payne, E. L. Swanberg, K. E. Nelson, P. A. Thelin, S. E. Fisher, S. Hunter, B. M. Wihl, K. S. Shah, R. Hawrami, A. Burger, L. A. Boatner, M. Momayezi, K. T. Stevens, M. H. Randles, and D. Solodovnikov "Strontium iodide instrument development for gamma spectroscopy and radioisotope identification", Proc. SPIE 9213, Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XVI, 92130N (9 September 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2063056

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