Instrument: Germanium detector

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Description

Germanium detectors are semiconductor diodes having a p-i-n structure in which the intrinsic (i) region is sensitive to ionizing radiation, particularly x rays and gamma rays. Under reverse bias, an electric field extends across the intrinsic or depleted region. When photons interact with the material within the depleted volume of a detector, charge carriers (holes and electrons) are produced and are swept by the electric field to the p and n electrodes. This charge, which is in proportion to the energy deposited in the detector by the incoming photon, is converted into a voltage pulse by an integral charge sensitive preamplifier. Germanium detectors are mostly used for gamma spectroscopy in nuclear physics, as well as x-ray spectroscopy.


Dataset NamePI-Supplied DescriptionPI-Supplied Name
Carbon content and radioisotope data from sampling conducted at the Compass Station in Bedford Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada from February to August 2019All gamma counting of sediments (for Thorium and associated radioisotopes) was completed using Canberra Intrinsic High Purity Germanium Detectors owned and operated by Dartmouth College. Canberra Intrinsic High Purity Germanium Well Detectors
Aerosol and seawater beryllium-7 concentrations from the US GEOTRACES GP17-OCE cruise on R/V Roger Revelle (RR2214) in the South Pacific and Southern Oceans from December 2022 to January 2023FIU's facilities include four HPGe detectors: three Ortec Coaxial GEM series detectors and one Canberra Broad Energy gamma detector. The detectors were calibrated for the each geometry by adding a commercially prepared mixed isotope  solution of known gamma activities (Eckert & Ziegler Mixed Nuclide Solution 7500) to three W-41 filters (for aerosol samples) and pellets of various thicknesses (for seawater) to derive a calibration curve using peaks associated with following isotopes: Sn-113 @ 392 keV, Sr-85 @ 514 keV, Cs-137 @ 662 keV. The counting efficiencies of the four detectors ranges from 0.05686 to 0.11415 for Be-7 on aerosol filters.  And for the seawater pellets from this cruise, the counting efficiencies ranged from 0.03480 to 0.08590. low background germanium gamma detectors
Aerosol and seawater beryllium-7 concentrations from the French GEOTRACES GS02 SWINGS cruise aboard R/V Marion-Dufresne (MD229) from January to March 2021FIU's facilities include four HPGe detectors: three Ortec Coaxial GEM series detectors and one Canberra Broad Energy gamma detector. The detectors were calibrated for the each geometry by adding a commercially prepared mixed isotope  solution of known gamma activities (Eckert & Ziegler Mixed Nuclide Solution 7500) to three W-41 filters (for aerosol samples) and pellets of various thicknesses (for seawater) to derive a calibration curve using peaks associated with following isotopes: Sn-113 @ 392 keV, Sr-85 @ 514 keV, Cs-137 @ 662 keV. The counting efficiencies of the four detectors ranges from 0.05686 to 0.11415 for Be-7 on aerosol filters.  And for the seawater pellets from this cruise, the counting efficiencies ranged from 0.03480 to 0.08590. low background germanium gamma detectors