Calculation of Gamma-ray Responses for HPGe Detectors with TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo Code

Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, CEA-Saclay DEN/DANS/DM2S/SERMA, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France

^* Corresponding Author, E-mail: yi-kang.lee@cea.fr

Abstract

The gamma-ray response calculation of HPGe (High Purity Germanium) detector is one of the most important topics of the Monte Carlo transport codes for nuclear instrumentation applications. In this study the new options of TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo transport code for gamma-ray spectrometry were investigated. Recent improvements include the gamma-rays modeling of the electron-position annihilation, the low energy electron transport modeling, and the low energy characteristic X-ray production. The impact of these improvements on the detector efficiency of the gamma-ray spectrometry calculations was verified. Four models of HPGe detectors and sample sources were studied. The germanium crystal, the dead layer of the crystal, the central hole, the beryllium window, and the metal housing are the essential parts in detector modeling. A point source, a disc source, and a cylindrical extended source containing a liquid radioactive solution were used to study the TRIPOLI-4 calculations for the gamma-ray energy deposition and the gamma-ray self-shielding. The calculations of full-energy-peak and total detector efficiencies for different sample-detector geometries were performed. Using TRIPOLI-4 code, different gamma-ray energies were applied in order to establish the efficiency curves of the HPGe gamma-ray detectors.