AN ELECTROMECHANICALL Y-COLLED HIGH-PURITY GERMANIUM RADIATION DETECTOR

Year
1997
Author(s)
B. B. Bandong - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Wayne Ruhter - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Anthony D. Lavietes - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Steven A. Kreek - Lawrence Liver-more National Laboratory
Jospeh Mauger - LLNL
Abstract
An Electromechanically-Cooled (EMC) High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) Radiation Detector system which provides near-liquid nitrogen (LN) energy resolution in a rugged, long-lived, portable and low-power consuming package is described. Several of these LLNL-developed EMC-HPGe systems have been successfully deployed in various applications with HPGe detectors ranging in size from a 500 mm2 planar detector to a 50% coaxial detector. The typical EMC-HPGe system provides energy resolution within about 10% ofa standard LN-cooled detector and consumes less than 100 Watts. The mean-lifetime-to-failure of a typical EMC-HPGe is 50,000 hours (about 6 years) and these systems are well suited to most HPGe detector applications which are not LN conducive. LLNL-developed EMC-HPGe Systems have been demonstrated to the U. S. Customs, Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and a system has been deployed within the European Communities' Safeguards Directorate (EURATOM).