Installation and performance testing of an XtRa – NaI(Tl) Compton Suppression System at the NED-NTUA

•The installation of the new Compton Suppression System at NED-NTUA is presented.•Simultaneous collection of both suppressed and unsuppressed spectrum.•Peak-to-Compton improvement by a factor of ~5.•Peak Suppression Factors range from 1 to 0.066, depending on energy and isotope.•MDA reduction by 13–50%.

This paper presents the Compton Suppression System, recently installed at the Nuclear Engineering Department of NTUA. The system consists of an XtRa Ge detector coupled with a NaI(Tl) guard detector. The electronic set-up allows for the simultaneous collection of both the suppressed and the unsuppressed spectra. System performance is investigated using certified point and volume sources. Parameters such as Peak Suppression Factors, peak-to-Compton ratios and minimum detectable activity for specific radionuclides are determined.