In-situ alpha spectrometry from air filters at ambient air pressure

Abstract The effect of collimation to the alpha-particle energy spectra was investigated for two different types of air filters, when the measurements were performed at ambient air pressure. Significant improvement of the energy resolution is possible if appropriate collimator is used. This is because only those alpha particles are detected entering the detector almost perpendicularly. We also show that although in-situ alpha spectrometry from air filters at ambient air pressure and with good energy resolution is possible, the accumulation of alpha-particle emitting aerosols in the surface of the collimator and the detector may deteriorate the registered spectrum. Therefore, the presence of possible spurious alpha peaks must be taken into account in continuous air monitoring.