Web resources

Reference nuclear decay data

Using good quality nuclear decay data is essential for gamma spectrometry. Some often used databases contain out-of-date data which can lead to wrong results. The following are good tools to obtain up-to-date data:

1. Internationally evaluated and peer-reviewed, often the recommended first choice: http://www.nucleide.org/DDEP_WG/DDEPdata.htm
2. X- and gamma emitting radionuclides for detector calibration (a replacement of the IAEA TECDOC-619 published as technical report STI/PUB/1287): http://www-nds.iaea.org/xgamma_standards/
3. Data from Nuclear Data Sheets: http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nudat2
4. The following web site offers nuclear data that can be extracted from a data base, in accordance with selection rules set by the user (e.g. energy and intensity threshold). A convenient tool for gamma spectrometry: http://laraweb.free.fr
5. Data from the JEFF 3.1.1 library: http://www.nea.fr/janis/

Gordon Gilmore's web

Dr. Gordon Gilmore (who was an invited speaker at the first GammaSem seminar) has for years maintained web sites with useful information on gamma spectrometry, see e.g.:

http://www.gammaspectrometry.co.uk/

SPECON 2000 Spectrum conversion utility

Specon is a converting utility between various spectrum files having various binary formats (SPEctrum CONverter). Many formats of the spectrum are produced by various MCAs and analysis codes such as RUMP and SENRAS. Some of them have not only count data of channels but also experimental conditions or conversion factors which are used for converting channel to some physical values (energy, time and so on). Specon can automatically identify 14 binary formats and three ascii formats. They can be completely converted to each other including experimental information if possible. Viewer has several functions of a simple MCA such as ROI, zoom, background subtraction and comparison of two spectra. Specon can convert the channel from as energy to as time, and vise versa during conversion.

http://www.hongserver.com/Specon/Specon.html

CAMBIO

CAMBIO is a powerful conversion utility and spectrum manipulator primarily aimed at the emergency response community. Cambio is an application intended to automatically read and display any spectrum file of any format in the world that the nuclear emergency response community might encounter - including unknown types. More information may be found at:

http://www.nucleonica.com/wiki/images/5/56/Cambio_intro.pdf

The software may be obtained by contacting George Lasche: gplasch at sandia.gov

TRUECOINC

Truecoinc is a free Windows utility for calculating TCS corrections. It can be obtained by ordering a printed (comes with CD) copy of http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1275_prn.pdf.

Or by download here: http://kisfiz.phys.klte.hu/kisfiz/sudar/truecoinc.htm

Software for efficiency transfer

A gamma spectrometric laboratory has usually to be able to deal with many types of containers and filling heights. Calibrating for all these geometries requires a lot of resources. By the use of effiency transfer calibration obtained for one geometry can be transferred by numerical methods to a new one. The geometries should however be of a similar character if good quality results are to be expected (calibration for a point source should not be expected to be transferred accurately to a Marinelli beaker)

EFFTRAN

Efficiency transfer and coincidence summing corrections for gamma-ray spectrometry

This software is available free of charge. Currently it deals only with cylindrical geometries (which is sufficient for many users and covers at least some of the geometries for others). http://efftran.eu/

ANGLE 3

Semiconductor detector efficiency calculations software

A commercial software which can also deal with more complex geometries, such as Marinelli beakers. The developers' web site: http://www.dlabac.com/angle/

The software can interface directly with AMETEC/ORTEC's GammaVision and is also distributed worldwide by the company.

ETNA

Efficiency Transfer for Nuclide Activity

ETNA is an application for conducting efficiency transfer operations and some coincidence summation correction.

Full details can be found in: Efficiency transfer and coincidence summing corrections for g-ray spectrometry Francois Piton, Marie-Christine Lepy*, Marie-Martine Be, Johann Plagnard, Applied Radiation and Isotopes 52 (2000) 791-795

The package can probably be obtained by contacting Marie-Christine Lepy: marie-christine.lepy at cea.fr