Abstract
The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre is engaged in R&D activity in the field of Non Destructive Analysis on nuclear materials, with focus on spent fuel characterization. A 500 mm3 Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) with enhanced resolution was recently purchased. With a full width at half maximum of 1.3% at 662 keV, the detector is very promising in view of its use for applications such as determination of uranium enrichment and plutonium isotopic composition, as well as measurement on spent fuel. In this paper, I report about the work done with such a detector in terms of its characterization. The detector energy calibration, peak shape and efficiency were determined from experimental data. The data included measurements with calibrated sources, both in a bare and in a shielded environment. In addition, Monte Carlo calculations with the MCNPX code were carried out and benchmarked with experiments.
Highlights
Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors[1] can be used for medium resolution gamma-ray spectrometry applications
The energy resolution at 662 keV, expressed in Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) for the full energy peak, can be as good as 1.3%,2,3 and one talks about medium resolution detectors, between the high resolution offered by High Purity Germanium (0.2%)[4] and the low resolution typical of e.g. NaI(Tl) detectors (7%).[4]
Within the European SAfeguards Research and Development Association (ESARDA) NDA working group,[9] an exercise to assess the capabilities of CZT and LaBr detectors to determine the Pu isotopic composition is being carried out
Summary
Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors[1] can be used for medium resolution gamma-ray spectrometry applications. The energy resolution at 662 keV, expressed in Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) for the full energy peak, can be as good as 1.3%,2,3 and one talks about medium resolution detectors, between the high resolution offered by High Purity Germanium (0.2%)[4] and the low resolution typical of e.g. NaI(Tl) detectors (7%).[4] Due to mechanisms related to the charge transport in the crystal, their peak shape exhibits a low energy tail.[5,6] Since they do not require cooling, CZT detectors are portable and are used for example as an attribute tester for fresh and irradiated nuclear material during safeguards inspections.[1,7] Limitations in crystal growth do not allow the production of large crystals, and their efficiency is limited. For Safeguards application where a larger efficiency is required, measurement systems based on This is an Open Access article published by World Scientific Publishing Company. Further distribution of this work is permitted, provided the original work is properly cited
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