Improving the effectiveness of a low-energy Compton suppression system

• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2013.06.111
• Publication Date: 2013-07-05T10:46:42Z
• Authors: R. Britton; J.L. Burnett; A.V. Davies; P.H. Regan
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 0104 chemical sciences

A novel method for collecting and processing coincidence data from a Compton Suppressed Low Energy Photon Spectrometer (LEPS) is presented, greatly simplifying the current setup and extending the suppression abilities of the system. Offline analysis is used, eliminating the need to discard coincidence data when vetoing coincident events with fast-timing electronics. Additional coincident events are identified that are usually missed, and which represent interactions in the active NaI(Tl) shield prior to an interaction in the LEPS detector. By suppressing these events, the Compton Suppression factor was improved by 144% for the 661.66 keV decay line in a 137 Cs source. The geometry used for this particular Compton suppression system is highly sensitive to these effects, however similar event profiles are expected in all coincidence systems.