Generation of customized wavelets for the analysis of γ-ray spectra

The analysis of γ-ray spectra using wavelet analysis has recently been demonstrated as a new, promising technique for isotope identification with both NaI and CdZnTe spectra. Wavelet analysis has the potential to benefit over other approaches due to the fact that the signal can simultaneously be analyzed over multiple scales, thus eliminating potential false isotope identifications from artifacts such as the Compton edge and backscatter peaks. This implies that this algorithm is not impacted by variations in the detector's resolution, which changes with energy. We will present our results of optimizing this algorithm by custom designing wavelets for NaI spectra. Emphasis will be placed on quantifying the merits of these custom wavelets to traditional wavelets by exploring the quality of peak detection and localization, the first step to isotope identification.