title: Calibration of an in-situ BEGe detector using semi-empirical and Monte Carlo techniques.
abstract: In the case of a nuclear or radiological accident a rapid estimation of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the potential radioactive pollution is needed. For aerial releases the radioactive pollutants are finally deposited on the ground forming a surface source. In this case, in-situ γ-ray spectrometry is a powerful tool for the determination of ground pollution. In this work, the procedure followed at the Nuclear Engineering Department of the National Technical University of Athens (NED-NTUA) for the calibration of an in-situ Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detector, for the determination of gamma-emitting radionuclides deposited on the ground surface, is presented. BEGe detectors due to their technical characteristics are suitable for the analysis of photons in a wide energy region. Two different techniques were applied for the full-energy peak efficiency calibration of the BEGe detector in the energy region 60-1600 keV: Full-energy peak efficiencies determined using the two methods agree within statistical uncertainties.
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Engineering Department, School of Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Agrafiotis
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Karfopoulos
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Anagnostakis
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005857:Germanium / Q000032:analysis*; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D017785:Photons; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000737:chemistry*; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma
chemical_list: D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D005857:Germanium