Study of a method for theoretical calculation of the efficiency of a LaBr3(Ce) for detecting gamma-rays from point sources

Abstract

A theoretical model for calculating the full-energy peak efficiency of scintillator detector is proposed in this paper. The effective penetration distance of gamma-rays in Ø3.81cm × 3.81 cm LaBr3(Ce) crystal, aluminum shell and MgO reflector is analyzed. The calculation model for point source detection efficiency is derived, and the attenuation of gamma-rays in the detector shell is computed by theoretical calculation method. This method is used to calculate the efficiency of LaBr3(Ce) with a size of Ø3.81 × 3.81 cm for detecting gamma-rays from point sources of 137Cs and 60Co located in different positions. Compared with experimental data and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation results, the maximum relative deviation is less than 5%. The attenuation of gamma-rays with an energy of 60 keV is more than 50%. The fitted efficiency calibration curve in the energy range of 60 keV–1500 keV is in good agreement with the simulation results. The results show that this method is suitable for calculating the efficiency of the LaBr3(Ce) detector using point sources, especially for analyzing low-energy gamma ray sources. By taking into account the attenuation of the gamma-rays by the detector shell, the measurement accuracy can be effectively improved. The proposed method can be extended for the efficiency calibration of scintillator detectors with various shapes and provides a new approach for 'source-less' efficiency calibration of detectors.