Maximising the sensitivity of a γ spectrometer for low-energy, low-activity radionuclides using Monte Carlo simulations

Monte-Carlo simulations have been utilised to determine the optimum material and thickness for a γ spectrometer to be used for the assay of radionuclides that emit radiation in the 50-300 keV energy range. Both HPGe and LaBr3(Ce) materials were initially considered for use, however the additional background radiation and lack of resolution in the latter drove the selection of HPGe for further optimisation. Multiple thicknesses were considered for the HPGe detector, with the aim of improving the sensitivity of the system by maximising the efficiency for low energy emissions, and reducing the probability of interaction with (and therefore the continuum from) higher energy photons. The minimum amount of material needed to achieve this was found to be 15 mm for a source that is dominated by high energy (>2.614 MeV) photons, and 20-30 mm for a typical reference source (with photons of energy 59.54 keV-2.614 MeV).