Recent advances in the k0-standardization of neutron activation analysis: Extensions, applications, prospects

This paper reports on the contribution made by some cooperating laboratories to the further development of the k0-method. As to the extensions and improvements, emphasis is put on the availability of an Al−0.1% Au reference material for the k0-standardization of NAA, on the counting of large-diameter samples, on the use of a low-energy photon detector, and on the introduction of the Westcott formalism for the handling of “non-1/v” (n, γ) reactions. A survey is given of a large variety of scientific and industrial applications, including the analysis of biological, geological and geochronological samples, various kinds of reference materials, high-purity products and ceramics, and a number of environmental pollution indicators. As shown, the advantage of the k0-standardization will be fully exploited with an increasing level of automation in NAA laboratories. Eventually, new measurements and evaluations of k0-factors and related nuclear data are given in an Appendix.