Testing the quasi-absolute method in photon activation analysis

In photon activation analysis (PAA), relative methods are widely used because of their accuracy and precision. Absolute methods, which are conducted without any assistance from calibration materials, are seldom applied for the difficulty in obtaining photon flux in measurements. This research is an attempt to perform a new absolute approach in PAA - quasi-absolute method - by retrieving photon flux in the sample through Monte Carlo simulation. With simulated photon flux and database of experimental cross sections, it is possible to calculate the concentration of target elements in the sample directly. The QA/QC procedures to solidify the research are discussed in detail. Our results show that the accuracy of the method for certain elements is close to a useful level in practice. Furthermore, the future results from the quasi-absolute method can also serve as a validation technique for experimental data on cross sections. The quasi-absolute method looks promising.