Characterization of Cerium(III) Bromide Scintillation Detector as Compared to Sodium Iodide

Year
2014
Author(s)
John Mattingly - Department of Nuclear Engineering
Kelsey A. Reamer - Department of Nuclear Engineering
Kalene M. Hanson - Department of Nuclear Engineering
Abstract
We are characterizing the performance of the new scintillator material cerium bromide (CeBr3) as compared to sodium iodide (NaI). The detectors were characterized with regards to energy linearity, energy resolution, and intrinsic efficiency. Five standard radioisotopes, barium- 133, cesium-137, cobalt-60, europium-154 and sodium-22, were used in determining the three performance metrics. After graphing the energy of the gamma emission against the channel number, the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) against the gamma emission energy, and the intrinsic efficiency vs gamma energy, it was determined that the CeBr3 detector had superior linearity and resolution when compared to the NaI detector. There was no discernable difference in the two in regards to intrinsic efficiency.