Quantitative determination of 252Cf

I. Ahmad; E. F. Moore; J. P. Greene; C. E. Porter; L. K. Felker

doi:10.1016/S0168-9002(03)01104-5

Quantitative determination of ²⁵²Cf

I. Ahmad, E. F. Moore, J. P. Greene, C. E. Porter, L. K. Felker

National Isotope Development Center

Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sealed ²⁵²Cf sources in the microCurie to milliCurie range are routinely used in industry and research. At present, no reliable analytical method is available for precise determination of the activity. Very strong sources can be analyzed by neutron counting but the error is large. We propose to use γ-ray spectroscopy for such analysis. In particular, high-energy γ rays (above 1 MeV) of fission fragments in equilibrium with the source are very convenient because they have little absorption in materials surrounding the source. It is found that the 1435.8-keV γ-ray of ¹³⁸Cs and the 1596.5-keV γ-ray of ¹⁴⁰La are well isolated and sufficiently above the background under these peaks. We have measured the γ/α ratio for the ²⁵²Cf with an uncertainty of better than 5%. The experiment involved the preparation of several thin ²⁵²Cf sources, alpha pulse height analysis, determination of α decay rate, and the measurement of γ singles spectrum with a well-shielded germanium spectrometer. The measured ratio and the γ-ray spectroscopy of unknown samples can provide the activity of ²⁵²Cf in these samples.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	389-392
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume	505
Issue number	1-2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9002(03)01104-5
State	Published - Jun 1 2003
Event	Proceedings of the tenth Symposium on Radiation - Ann Arbor, MI, United States Duration: May 21 2002 → May 23 2002

Funding

This work was supported by US Department of Energy, Nuclear Physics Division, under contract No. W-31-109-ENG-38 and Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. The authors acknowledge helpful discussions with J. Knauer. The authors are also indebted for the use of to the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy, through the transplutonium element production facilities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Funders	Funder number
Nuclear Physics Division	W-31-109-ENG-38
U.S. Department of Energy
Basic Energy Sciences	DE-AC05-00OR22725

Keywords

Measured I of fission fragments
Radioactivity Cf

Access to Document

10.1016/S0168-9002(03)01104-5

Cite this

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title = "Quantitative determination of 252Cf",

abstract = "Sealed 252Cf sources in the microCurie to milliCurie range are routinely used in industry and research. At present, no reliable analytical method is available for precise determination of the activity. Very strong sources can be analyzed by neutron counting but the error is large. We propose to use γ-ray spectroscopy for such analysis. In particular, high-energy γ rays (above 1 MeV) of fission fragments in equilibrium with the source are very convenient because they have little absorption in materials surrounding the source. It is found that the 1435.8-keV γ-ray of 138Cs and the 1596.5-keV γ-ray of 140La are well isolated and sufficiently above the background under these peaks. We have measured the γ/α ratio for the 252Cf with an uncertainty of better than 5%. The experiment involved the preparation of several thin 252Cf sources, alpha pulse height analysis, determination of α decay rate, and the measurement of γ singles spectrum with a well-shielded germanium spectrometer. The measured ratio and the γ-ray spectroscopy of unknown samples can provide the activity of 252Cf in these samples.",

keywords = "Measured I of fission fragments, Radioactivity Cf",

author = "I. Ahmad and Moore, {E. F.} and Greene, {J. P.} and Porter, {C. E.} and Felker, {L. K.}",

year = "2003",

month = jun,

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doi = "10.1016/S0168-9002(03)01104-5",

language = "English",

volume = "505",

pages = "389--392",

journal = "Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment",

issn = "0168-9002",

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note = "Proceedings of the tenth Symposium on Radiation ; Conference date: 21-05-2002 Through 23-05-2002",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Quantitative determination of 252Cf

AU - Ahmad, I.

AU - Moore, E. F.

AU - Greene, J. P.

AU - Porter, C. E.

AU - Felker, L. K.

PY - 2003/6/1

Y1 - 2003/6/1

N2 - Sealed 252Cf sources in the microCurie to milliCurie range are routinely used in industry and research. At present, no reliable analytical method is available for precise determination of the activity. Very strong sources can be analyzed by neutron counting but the error is large. We propose to use γ-ray spectroscopy for such analysis. In particular, high-energy γ rays (above 1 MeV) of fission fragments in equilibrium with the source are very convenient because they have little absorption in materials surrounding the source. It is found that the 1435.8-keV γ-ray of 138Cs and the 1596.5-keV γ-ray of 140La are well isolated and sufficiently above the background under these peaks. We have measured the γ/α ratio for the 252Cf with an uncertainty of better than 5%. The experiment involved the preparation of several thin 252Cf sources, alpha pulse height analysis, determination of α decay rate, and the measurement of γ singles spectrum with a well-shielded germanium spectrometer. The measured ratio and the γ-ray spectroscopy of unknown samples can provide the activity of 252Cf in these samples.

AB - Sealed 252Cf sources in the microCurie to milliCurie range are routinely used in industry and research. At present, no reliable analytical method is available for precise determination of the activity. Very strong sources can be analyzed by neutron counting but the error is large. We propose to use γ-ray spectroscopy for such analysis. In particular, high-energy γ rays (above 1 MeV) of fission fragments in equilibrium with the source are very convenient because they have little absorption in materials surrounding the source. It is found that the 1435.8-keV γ-ray of 138Cs and the 1596.5-keV γ-ray of 140La are well isolated and sufficiently above the background under these peaks. We have measured the γ/α ratio for the 252Cf with an uncertainty of better than 5%. The experiment involved the preparation of several thin 252Cf sources, alpha pulse height analysis, determination of α decay rate, and the measurement of γ singles spectrum with a well-shielded germanium spectrometer. The measured ratio and the γ-ray spectroscopy of unknown samples can provide the activity of 252Cf in these samples.

KW - Measured I of fission fragments

KW - Radioactivity Cf

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DO - 10.1016/S0168-9002(03)01104-5

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JO - Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment

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