Comparison of gamma-ray coincidence and low-background gamma-ray singles spectrometry.

Abstract Aerosol samples have been studied under different background conditions using gamma-ray coincidence and low-background gamma-ray singles spectrometric techniques with High-Purity Germanium detectors. Conventional low-background gamma-ray singles counting is a competitive technique when compared to the gamma–gamma coincidence approach in elevated background conditions. However, measurement of gamma–gamma coincidences can clearly make the identification of different nuclides more reliable and efficient than using singles spectrometry alone. The optimum solution would be a low-background counting station capable of both singles and gamma–gamma coincidence spectrometry.