title: Determination of LaBr3(Ce) internal background using a HPGe detector and Monte Carlo simulations.
abstract: The presence of (138)La and (227)Ac impurities in LaBr3(Ce) scintillator crystals is a drawback for their use in environmental radiation monitoring. A method is presented to evaluate the internal (138)La activity. Firstly, an experimental set-up is prepared with the LaBr3(Ce) crystal acting as the radiation source and an HPGe detector that acquires the photon spectrum. Then, the internal background spectrum is simulated with a modified version of the PENELOPE/penEasy Monte Carlo code. The simulated spectra agree with measurements conducted at ultra-low-background facilities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Diagonal 647, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camp
authors.affiliation: Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Diagonal 647, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: arturo.vargas@upc.edu.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: Facultat de Física (ECM and ICC), Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fernández-Varea
keywords: (138)La; Ambient dose rate; Gamma-ray spectrometry; Internal background; LaBr(3)(Ce); Monte Carlo simulation