Characterizing the coaxial HPGe detector using Monte Carlo simulations and evolutionary algorithms

Abstract

A standard procedure for characterizing the high-purity germanium detector (HPGe), manufactured by Canberra Industries Inc., is performed directly by the company using patented methods. However, the procedure is usually expensive and must be repeated because the characteristics of the HPGe crystal changes over time. In this work, the principles of a technique for use in obtaining and optimizing the detector characteristics based on a cost-effective procedure in a standard research laboratory were developed. The technique required the geometrical parameters of the detector to be determined as precisely as possible by the Monte Carlo method in parallel with the optimization process based on evolutionary algorithms. The development of this approach facilitated the modeling of the HPGe detector as a standardized procedure. The results would be also beneficial in the development of gamma spectrometers and/or their calibrations before routine measurements.