Assessing CZT detector performance for environmental radioactivity investigations
- 11 October 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Radiation Protection Dosimetry
- Vol. 154 (4) , 477-482
Abstract
Cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe or CZT) is the leading semiconductor detector for gamma spectroscopy at room temperature. In the present study, a coplanar-grid CZT detector was used for gamma-ray measurements of environmental radioactivity on a contaminated saltmarsh sediment core in comparison with results from a coaxial high-purity germanium detector to assess their comparative performance. The findings reveal that the CZT performs well for both 241Am and 137Cs measurements over a broad range of activities, despite limited detector efficiency, and can be used to good effect in the study of environmental radioactivity in contaminated estuarine settings.Keywords
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