1.

Instruction for the Journal Write–up:

The details of the experimental write-up should be classified in the following topics:

1) Aim,
2) Apparatus,
3) Theory (not in detail),
4) Observations,
5) Calculation,
6) Error analysis,
7) Results,
8) Precautions.

Books:

1) Radiation detection and measurement by G.F. Knoll,

2) Techniques for Nuclear and Particle Physics Experiments by W.R.Leo,
3) Radiation Detection techniques by S. S. Kapoor and V. Rammurthy.
2. Error Calculations: -

In a typical laboratory experiment, one is mostly interested in derived quantities

which are calculated from the measured variables. The error associated with the
value of the originally measured quantities will propagate through the calculations
and will be reflected as a corresponding uncertainty in the derived quantity. The
maximum error in the measured quantities is usually considered to be ±σ (standard
deviation). If x, y, z, .... are the directly measured variables for which we know σ x,
σy, σz ... then the standard deviation for any derived quantity u(x, y, z) can be
calculated as

2
 u 
2 2
 u   u 
u 2
    x     y     z  ............
2 2 2

 x   y   z 
This equation is generally known as the error propagation formula.

In the Nuclear Physics experiments, the counting statistics is assumed to follow

Poisson distribution. If a measurement gives N counts in a specified time interval, the
error associated with it will be ± N .
3. General description for NP-1.

3.1 Various regions of the detector operation:

The curve of amplitude of the observed pulse versus applied voltage from various gas filled
detectors is plotted in figure 1. At very low voltages the applied field is insufficient to prevent the
recombination of the original ion-pairs. As the voltage is raised recombination is suppressed and all
the ion-pairs created by the incoming radiation are collected by the electrodes. This is called the
saturation region and the ionization counters operate in this region. If the voltage is further
increased, the threshold value of the field is reached at which the gas multiplication starts. The
collected charge then begins to multiply and the observed pulse amplitude will increase. Over some
region of the electric field, the gas multiplication will be linear and the collected charge will be
proportional to the original ion-pairs created by the incoming radiation. This region is known as the
true proportionality region and represents the mode of operation of the proportional counters.
Further increase in the applied voltage can introduce the nonlinear effects. Now if the field is
further increased the number of secondary electrons formed due to the collision of energetic
electrons with the natural gas molecules will no longer be proportional to the number of initial ion-
pairs created. Electrons created by the secondary ionization are collected by the anode quickly. But
due to mass positive ions do not drift towards cathode that fast. So the cloud of positive ions exist
in the counter around the anode wire. If the concentration of the positive ions is sufficiently high
they represents a space charge and can alter the shape of electric field. These effects mark the onset
of the region of limited proportionality region. If the applied voltage is made sufficiently high, the
space charge created by the positive ions can become completely dominant. Under this condition,
the avalanche proceeds until a sufficient number of positive ions have been created to reduce the
electric field below the point at which additional gas multiplication takes place. The process is then
self-limiting and will terminate when the same total number of positive ions have been formed
regardless of the number of initial ion-pairs created by the incident radiation. Then each output
pulse from the detector is of the same amplitude and no longer reflects any properties of the
incident radiation. This is the Geiger-Muller region of operation.

Figure 1: The different regions of operation for gas-filled detectors. The observed pulse amplitude is
plotted for events corresponding to Alpha, Beta, Gamma, depositing different amounts or energy within the
gas.
3.2 Geiger-Muller (G.M.) Counter:

General Information

A G.M. counter is a gaseous ionization instrument used for the detection of alpha particles, beta
particles, gamma rays and X-rays. It consists of a G.M. tube and an electronic counting cum high
voltage unit.
G.M. tube: In its simplest form this detector is a gas filled cylindrical chamber with a very thin
metal wire (~ 0.01 cm diameter) stretched along the axis of the tube and maintained at a positive
voltage (400V-1000V). The envelope of the tube acts as the negative electrode. The cylindrical
cathode is made of metal or glass with an inside surface coating of metal. Radiation enters either
through the outer envelope and or through a specially deigned thin window at one end of the tube.
The thin end window tube is very suitable for short range particles such as alpha particles.

The GM tube is filled with a mixture of noble gas and another gas known as “quench gas”. Helium
or Argon are widely used as the principle components of the mixture. Ethyl alcohol or halogen gas
is used as “quench gas”. The gas mixture is at a pressure of about 10 cm of Hg. The partial pressure
of the quench gas is only about 1 cm of Hg amounting to relative concentration of 5-10%.

Detection Mechanism in GM tube :- Ionizing events are directly initiated by charged particles
which enter the GM tube. In the case of gamma or X-rays the gas ionization is indirect. Secondary
electrons produced during the gamma ray interaction with solid wall of the counter are the
ionization agents. The high voltage applied to the G.M. tube provides necessary electric field for
the effective collection of the electron-ion pair formed, at the respective electrodes. The large
electric field (~ 106 V/m) in the G.M. tube is also responsible for accelerating the electrons
produced. These energetic electrons bring about further ionization through collision, of the fill gas.
Ultraviolet photons produced during the decay of excited molecules are also responsible in a large
way to the creation of additional electron-ion pairs. A mini chain reaction known as an "avalanche"
takes place in a. short duration of the order of a fraction of a microsecond. Several such avalanches
constitute a Geiger discharge which takes place within about a microsecond. The development of
Geiger discharge requires a certain minimum value of E/P ratio, where E is the electric field
magnitude and P is the gas pressure. The multiplication of free charges originally created in the
primary event due to particle under detection leads to collection of a significantly large number
(109- 1010) of electron-ion pairs. The voltage pulse amplitude in a G.M. tube is therefore of the
order of volts.

Quenching: This is the process by which multiple pulsing or recycling is not allowed to occur in
the G.M. tube. In 'external quenching' process the recurrence of Geiger discharge is prevented by
lowering of the applied voltage (the magnitude of the electric field is reduced below the minimum
value required for gas multiplication), for a certain time, after the registration of each pulse, by
means of an „electronic‟ circuit.

In 'self-quenching' tubes multiple pulsing is prevented by the use of a quench gas like ethyl alcohol
or a halogen in relatively small concentration. The quench gas molecules by way of collision with
primary gas (Argon etc.) ions brings the latter to a neutral state by providing electrons required for
the recombination (quench gas has lower ionization potential). Further the chance of excessive
electron emission (responsible for multiple pulse) from the cathode surface by the argon ions is also
reduced because of the quench gas. This is so because, the excited quench molecules can decay into
neutral components by dissociation. Halogen quenched tubes have very long life since the
dissociated molecules can spontaneously recombine.

G.M. Plateau Curve:- The precise voltage required for the efficient use of G.M. tube is decided by
the exact nature of the plateau curve. Figure 3 is a plot of the number of pulses counted against the
voltage applied to the tube, obtained with constant irradiation.

GRAPH :-

Vcd

Vth

Vo
Operating Voltage

In the figure, Vo is the "starting voltage" at which the pulses are first registered Vth is Geiger
threshold voltage and Vcd is the voltage corresponding to the onset of continuous discharge or
multiple pulsing. The region between Vth and Vcd is the “plateau” region and the region before Vth
is known as the "knee" of the plateau curve. The plateau region is almost flat with a small slope of
about 2-3 percent per 100V change in the tube voltage. The length of the plateau is typically about
100-200V. The starting voltage varies from about 300V to 1000V and depends on the composition
of the fill gas and the partial pressure of the quench gas.
G.M. tube characteristics:- In the plateau region of operation, the number of electron-ion pairs
collected is independent of the original ionization, for a given tube voltage. In other words, all
pulses from the G.M. tube are of the same amplitude, independent of the initial ionization. Hence a
G.M. counter is not capable of providing for the energy analysis of the incident radiation. The basic
reason for this is the rather complex mechanism involved in terminating a Geiger discharge. A
Geiger discharge is terminated when the electric field falls below a certain value Em for the same
number density of positive ions in the space charge created by the low mobility positive ions
(mostly of quench gas). Hence, the Geiger discharge is terminated when all output pulses attain the
same amplitude since the total charge developed and collected is same for a given tube voltage.

The flatness of the Geiger plateau also indicates that the detection efficiency of the G.M. tube is
almost constant, independent of the operating voltage. For best operation, the operating voltage is
selected to be at the middle of the plateau. The effective efficiency of the G.M. tube is about 1-2
percent for photons and 90 percent or more for charged particles.

An important, but undesirable, feature of a G.M tube is its inherent “dead-time”. This is of the
order of 50-100 microseconds and is the insensitive time of the tube during which a primary event
does not produce an output pulse. The dead time (Td) corresponds to the time required after Geiger
discharge, for the fill gas to return to its neutral state. The dead time also sets the limit for the
maximum counting rate usable with a given tube. The maximum counting rate is approximately
1/Td.

Fig. 4 Experimental setup for NP-1 :

3.3 Determination of the operating voltage of the Geiger Muller Counter:-

Switch on the unit and wait for a minute or two for the voltage stabilization. Using the program key
from the front panel or from the remote pad set the time (t = 30 sec) for which you want to take the
observations. Put the source close to the detector and increase the EHT voltage in the step of 15
volts and record the number of counts. Repeat each observation thrice and take the mean
N  N1  N 2  N 3  3 of these readings for a particular voltage. The error in the mean number of
counts will be N 3 . Continue to increase the voltage till you get the plateau region of about, 150
Volts. Stop increasing the voltage of EHT where the counts suddenly increase or about 150 Volt
flat portion of the plateau is traced. Draw the voltage vs. counts curve with the error bar. The
operating voltage of the detector corresponds to the middle of the plateau.

3.4 Description of G. M. Counting system used in the laboratory:

4. NP-l - (i) Find the operating point of the G.M. counter from its Plateau
characteristics. (see sec. 3.3)

(ii) Find the absorption coefficient of γ-rays from 137Cs source in

Al.

ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT OF γ-RAYS

When monoenergetic gamma rays are collimated into a narrow beam and allowed to strike a
detector after passing through an absorber of variable thickness, the result should be simple
exponential attenuation of γ-rays as given below:

I  I o e  x 1

where Io = counting rate without absorber

 I 
 
I = counting rate with absorber  Io 

x = absorber thickness in mm (or cm)

μ = absorption coefficient in mm-1 (or cm-1)

x (thickness of absorber)

The use of linear absorption coefficient is limited by the fact that it varies with the density of the
absorber, even though the absorber material is the same. Therefore, the mass absorption coefficient
is mostly used and is defined as


mass absorption coefficient =


where ρ represents the density of the medium. For a given gamma ray energy, the mass absorption
coefficient does not change with the physical state of a given absorber. For example, it is the same
for water whether present in liquid or vapour form. The mass absorption coefficient of a compound
or mixture of elements can be calculated from

 
     i  
  c i   i
where ωi represents the weight fraction of element i in the compound or mixture.
EXPERIMENT:-

First the plateau curve of the G.M. counter is obtained and the operating voltage is selected at the
middle of the plateau region as described in the sec. 3.3,

Set the G.M. counter at the operating point. Estimate the background counting rate by making an
observation for 5 min. without any radioactive source. Before placing the radioactive source first
estimate the space required for the thickest absorber to be placed between the detector and the
source.

Accordingly position the source such that it is at the minimum possible distance from the detector.
Without the absorber, find the number of counts per unit time by counting for 3 min. Take two
reading. Repeat this by putting thinnest absorber in the beam and with increasing thickness of the
absorbers. Let 'a' be the counting rate without any absorber and 'b' be the counting rate with the
b
absorber. Plot (b/a) with error bars. The error bars are determined as   u , where u  ; using
a
error propagation formula (sec. 2).
 b
 
a

background

Thickness

In order to have uniform distribution of points on the graph, one needs many more points for lower
thicknesses than for larger thickness. In other words, instead of taking readings for equal increment
of absorber thickness, one should try to take many readings for low absorber thicknesses. To
achieve this, one may have to add two or three absorbers to get intermediate thickness.

For finding the absorption coefficient one should get the correct value of counting rate without and
with absorber by subtracting the background counting rate. Let Io & I be the correct counting rate
without and with absorber, respectively. Also, the error bars should be calculated for the correct
counting rate using the "propagation of errors" formula.

The "absorption coefficient" should be determined by two methods:

i) By half thickness method :-

Io
Let I   e  x  1
2 ------ (2)
2

From the plot (I/I0) Vs x, find the thickness of the absorber for which the counting rate becomes
half of its original value. Use eq (2) to find μ .

ii) By finding the slope of the straight line in the plot of ln(I/I0) Vs x :-

ln(I/I0) = -μx -------- (3)

Again, each pt. in this plot should have error bars calculated using the "propagation of errors"
formula. The straight line should be the best straight line obtained by finding the weighted least
square fit (given later)

Find the mass absorption coefficient „μm‟ (unit: cm2/gm) by dividing μ(unit:cm-1 ) by the density of
the absorber.
Also find the error in μ(σμ) by using the method given below:

LEAST SQUARE FITTING OF A STRAIGHT LINE:-

Consider the problem of fitting a set of N data points (xi,yi) to a straight line model

y(x) = y (x;a,b) = a + bx --------------- (1)

We assume that the uncertainty σi associated with each measurement yi is known, and that the xi's
(values of the dependent variable), are known exactly.

We define the chi -square function

2
 y  a  bxi
N 
 a, b     i
2
 ----------------- (2)
i 1  i 

Equation (2) is minimized to determine a and b. At its minimum, the 2 derivatives of

χ2 (a,b) with respect to a, b vanish

N  
 2 y  a  bxi
0  2  i 
a   i2 
i 1  

 2 N 
x  y  a  bxi  
0  2  i i 2 ------------------ (3)
b  i 
i 1  

These conditions can be written in a convenient form if we define the following sums,

N
1 N
xi N
yi N
xi2 N
xi yi
s sx   sy   sxx   sxy   ----(4)
i 1  i
2
i 1  i
2
i 1  i
2
i 1  i
2
i 1  i2

with these definitions eqn.(3) becomes

as + bsx = sy

asx + bsxx = sxy ----------------- (5)

The solution of these two equations in two unknowns is calculated as

sxx s y  sx sxy
a

 ssxy  sx s y
b ------------------- (6)


where Δ = ssxx – (sx)2

eqn. (6) gives the solution for the weighted best fit model parameters a and b.

We must estimate now the probable uncertainties in the estimates of 'a' and 'b', since obviously the
measurement errors in the data must introduce some uncertainty in the determination of these
parameters.

Consideration of propagation of errors shows that the variance  2f in the value of any function will
be

2
 f 
N
    
2 2
--------------------- (7)
 yi 
f i
i 1

For the straight line, the derivatives of a and b with respect to yi can be directly evaluated from the
solution

a sxx  sx xi
 --------------------- (8)
yi  i2 

a s xi  s x

yi  i2 

Summing over the points as in eq.(7), we get

sxx
 a2  ------------------- (9)


s
 b2 


which are the variances in the estimates of a and b, respectively.

Precautions:
1.) While finding the plateau characteristics of G. M. Counter, detector should not be operated
in the discharge region.
2.) Source position should not be disturbed throughout the experiment.