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Development of portable HPGe spectrometer for in situ measurements

Kail Artjoms (Baltic Scientific Instruments, Riga, Latvia)
Kaiser Matthias (Baltic Scientific Instruments, Riga, Latvia)
Kim Sergey (Baltic Scientific Instruments, Riga, Latvia)
Loshevich Edward (Baltic Scientific Instruments, Riga, Latvia)
Sokolov Alexander (Baltic Scientific Instruments, Riga, Latvia)

In situ applications require a very high level of portability of high-resolution spectrometric equipment. Usage of HPGe detectors for radioactivity measurements in the environment or for nuclear safeguard applications, to combat illicit trafficking of nuclear materials or uranium and plutonium monitoring in nuclear wastes, has become a norm in the recent years. Portable HPGe-based radionuclide spectrometer with electrical cooling has lately appeared on the market for in situ applications. At the same time deterioration of energy resolution associated with vibrations produced by cryocooler or high weight of the instrument, short time of autonomous operation and high price of these spectrometers are limiting their usage in many cases. In this paper we present development results of ultra compact hand held all-in-one spectrometer for in situ measurements based on HPGe detector cooled by liquid nitrogen without listing the above disadvantages.

Keywords: HPGe spectrometer, in situ radioactivity measurement