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<p>This study evaluates the gamma background performance of high-purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors installed in a shallow underground lab with various shielding configurations. Four detectors were utilized, i.e., a low-background (Ge09) and an ultralow-background coaxial spectrometer (Ge12), a standard coaxial spectrometer (Ge11), and a Small Anode Germanium (SAGe) well detector (Ge14). The main goal was to reduce the gamma background and find the minimum detectable activity (MDA). Results show that active muon shielding decreased background noise by as much as 93% in Ge12, with the 511&#xa0;keV annihilation peak reduced by 95.7%. The findings suggest that a SAGe well detector in a shallow underground laboratory can achieve regulatory limits of 1 pCi&#xa0;l<sup>−1</sup> for <sup>22</sup>⁶Ra and <sup>22</sup>⁸Ra in drinking water. The study highlights the importance of active muon rejection, radiopure shielding materials, and optimized detector setups to achieve MDA at &lt; 1 pCi&#xa0;L⁻<sup>1</sup> in environmental gamma spectrometry for radium isotopes, helping meet strict public health regulatory limits.</p>

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Gamma background study of high-purity germanium (HPGe) spectrometers at a shallow underground laboratory

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月11日

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  • Abdul J. Khan

摘要

This study evaluates the gamma background performance of high-purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors installed in a shallow underground lab with various shielding configurations. Four detectors were utilized, i.e., a low-background (Ge09) and an ultralow-background coaxial spectrometer (Ge12), a standard coaxial spectrometer (Ge11), and a Small Anode Germanium (SAGe) well detector (Ge14). The main goal was to reduce the gamma background and find the minimum detectable activity (MDA). Results show that active muon shielding decreased background noise by as much as 93% in Ge12, with the 511 keV annihilation peak reduced by 95.7%. The findings suggest that a SAGe well detector in a shallow underground laboratory can achieve regulatory limits of 1 pCi l−1 for 22⁶Ra and 22⁸Ra in drinking water. The study highlights the importance of active muon rejection, radiopure shielding materials, and optimized detector setups to achieve MDA at < 1 pCi L⁻1 in environmental gamma spectrometry for radium isotopes, helping meet strict public health regulatory limits.