title: Influence of source composition and particle energy on the determination of gross alpha activity.
abstract: The influence of different source compositions and α-particle energies on the detection efficiency of a gas-flow proportional counter was examined using experimental measurements and Monte Carlo simulations. Efficiency variation with alpha-particle energy was very marked, being less significant with the substrate composition. These results show that the determination of gross alpha activity in an unknown sample must be carried out very carefully in order to give a correct estimation of its activity.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles-Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: alfonso.fernandez@urjc.es.
authors.forename: A Fernández
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Timón
authors.forename: M Jurado
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: A B Ruano
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: J de la Torre
authors.initials: Jde L
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: A Martín
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sánchez
keywords: Gross alpha; Ion interactions in matter; Monte Carlo methods; Self-absorption