Early operating experience with large-area germanium detectors for detecting low-energy photons

Intrinsic germanium (Ge) planar detector arrays have been used at Hanford for lung counting since 1983. This paper describes a counting system using an array of only four detectors, larger than those used in the past, using larger dewars and a simplified detector-positioning system. Typical detector elements have been 51 mm in diameter and 20 mm thick, with a beryllium window thickness of 0.51 mm. The resolution of the detectors has been about 560 eV for 6.4-keV x-rays and 700 eV for 122-keV gamma rays. In the past, arrays of three, four, five, and six detectors have been employed. Six detectors have been the preferred configuration for lung counting. Up to 3,000 counts annually have been performed with these systems. When detectors fail and spares are not available, calibrations and calculational algorithms are maintained for four-detector configurations. For several years, both ``bucket`` and ``stovepipe`` designs have been used for the Dewars with the 15-liter dewars proving to be much more reliable than the ``stovepipe`` designs.