Course Goals:

Students who will graduate from Nuclear Sciences Institute master degree and/or PhD programme, to reach the quantitative results in the identification of several examples and nuclear analysis method will be taught in order to give a professional judgment at result of analysis. Therefore, mature and reliable enough current nuclear analytical techniques applied will be described.

Course Learning Outcomes:

This course is taken from the knowledge and experience of Master’s / PhD degree in a person who graduated experts will be learned nuclear analytical methods encountered in practice in almost every field of nuclear technology. These students, in the identification of various substances, radioisotope production, equipment calibration and use, will be able to use the knowledge they gained in nuclear analytical techniques. In addition, any person who specializes in nuclear analytical methods, TAEA, TUBITAK-UME and Research Centres in Universities or the research groups abroad can take part in advanced research and development.

Course Subjects:

  • Importance of radionuclide metrology.
  • The optimization of the radiation counting conditions, (photopeak area measurement, optimum natural background width, selection of spectrum size).
  • Decision limits, (critical limit, upper limit, confidence limits, detection limit, determination limit, concept of minimum detectable activity (MDA)).
  • Gamma-ray Spectroscopy Technique: General properties of photon detectors, detector specifications and installation, detector configurations, spectrometer calibration, detection efficiency, Total-to-peak (T/P) ratio (total efficiency), correction methods for counting losses, peak area calculation methods and activity calculation.
  • X-ray Spectroscopy Technique, Energy dispersive (EDXRF) and wavelength dispersive (WDXRF) X-ray fluorescence technique, 6. The basic prooperties of Si (Li), Si-Drift and Si-PIN detectors.
  • The basic prooperties of Si (Li), Si-Drift and Si-PIN detectors.
  • Alpha particle Spectroscopy Technique- Counting system with semiconductor (PIPS-Passivated Implanted Planar Silicon) detectors, source preparation technique, properties of silicon detectors for alpha counting.
  • Beta Spectroscopy Technique – Liquid Scintillation Technique, Liquid Scintillation mechanisms, properties of liquid scintillator.
  • Silicon detectors for beta counting, plastic scintillators for α/β counting and proportional gas counters for α/β counting.
  • Other Nuclear Analytical Techniques: Particle (p, d, α etc.)-induced X-ray emission spectroscopy (PIXE), Particle (p, d, α etc.)-induced gamma emission spectroscopy (PIGE), NRA-Nuclear Reaction Analysis, Compton profile method.