Module List - On-line Gamma-Ray Spectrometry Course

1.1 The Structure of Atoms and the Chart of the Nuclides: Structure of the atom, Definitions, Nuclide notation, Chart of the Nuclides, isotopes and nuclides, isobars.
1.2 Why some Nuclei decay and how.: Mass/energy equivalence, changes in mass driving decay, beta minus decay, beta plus decay, electron capture, isobar parabolas, alpha decay, spontaneous fission, differential half-lives, minor decay modes.
1.3 Origins of Gamma-Rays, X-rays and other Electromagnetic Radiations: Nuclear energy levels, deexcitation after beta-, beta+ and alpha decay, lifetime of nuclear levels, metastable states and isomeric transition, X-rays and Auger cascades, X-rays a consequence of electron capture and internal conversion, Annihilation radiation, Bremsstrahlung
1.4 Practical Exercise: Retrieving Nuclear Data On-line
1.5 Mathematics of Growth and Decay: Decay equation, specific activity, decay during counting, growth of decay in reactors, growth from a parent, transient equilibrium, secular equilibrium, no equilibrium situations.
1.6 Statistics of Counting: Measurement and Estimates, Standard deviation and variance, Statistical statements, Counting distributions, Sampling statistics, Confidence Limits, Peak area measurement and its uncertainty.

2.1 Gamma-Spectrometry - Why we do it, the Basic System
2.2 Practical Exercise: Installation and Use of the CompAct Virtual Gamma Spectrometer.: Installation, using the display functions, getting information about the spectrum, loading a virtual sample, setting up a count and measuring the count rate.
2.3 Practical Exercise: The Gamma-Ray Spectrum and its Interpretation: Spectrum measurement, total and full energy peak areas.
2.4 Practical Exercise: High and Low Resolution Spectrometry: Comparing High and Low Resolution spectra
2.5 Practical Exercise: Decay and Growth: Measurement of half-life: Plot the decay of a source and estimate the half-life, ot the growth of a source and again estimate the half-life
2.6 Practical Exercise: Uncertainty of Counts and Peak Areas: Take multiple measurements and calculate mean, standard deviations etc. for single (ROI) counts and for peak areas.

3.1 Interactions of Gamma Radiation with Matter: Practical Exercise: Identification of features in gamma-ray spectra
3.2 Semiconductor Detectors for Gamma Spectrometry: The nature of semiconductors, principles of operation, detector types available, detector mounting, uses of n-type detectors, electrical cooling
3.3 Scintillation Detectors: The nature of scintillators, principles of operation, detector types available, detector mounting, examples of their use.
3.4 Origins and Control of Resolution Sources of uncertainty in gamma-ray detection and measurement. Application to high resolution and scintillation detector systems.
3.5 Pulse Processing: General Layout of the System, Putting the System together, Preamplifiers, Amplifiers and their functions.
3.6 MCA's and ADC's and DSP
3.7 Practical (Detective) Exercise: Examination and diagnosis of Faulty Spectra.

4.1 Practical Exercise: Energy Calibration
4.2 Practical Exercise: Peak Width (FWHM) Calibration
4.3 Practical Exercise: Efficiency Calibration
4.4 Calibration Errors - True Coincidence Summing: Reasons for summing errors, Cascades in decay schemes, solution to the problem, error free calibrations
4.5 Interpretation of and checking the Detector Specification: Practical Exercise: Checking the manufacturers specification
4.6 Practical Exercise: Influence of source shape, density and distance on count rate

5.1 Optimising the counting scheme: Optimum background width, spectrum size and counting time
5.2 Decision Limits and MDA: Critical Limit, Upper Limit, Critical Limit, Minimum Detectable Activity, When to use which limit. Practical Exercise: Decision Limit Calculations
5.3 Use of computers for Spectrum Analysis
5.4 Ensuring Quality in Gamma-Ray Spectrometry
5.5 Practical Exercise: identification of radionuclides
5.6 Practical Exercise: corrections for random summing
5.7 Practical Exercise: corrections for density
5.8 Observations on measuring environmental samples: Is bigger really better?
5.9 Combining results and propagation of uncertainties
5.10 Alternative Detector Materials