Differentiation method for Compton edge characterization in organic scintillation detectors

It is well-known that response function of organic scintillation detectors does not appear with photopeaks. Instead, their dominant feature is a continuum, usually called the Compton edge that innately exposes the resolution characteristics of detection system. While, accurate characterization of Compton edge is crucial for calibration purposes, it is also in charge of elaborating the energy resolution of detector. This paper presents a simple method for accurate characterization of the Compton edge in organic scintillation detectors. The method is based on the fact that differentiating the response function leads to accurate estimation of the constituting functions. The differentiation method, in addition to the location of the Compton edge, gives insights into the parameters of the folded Gaussian function which could lead to depict the energy resolution. Moreover, it is observed that the uncorrelated noise in the measurement of the response function does not impose significant uncertainties in the evaluations, so it could preserve its functionality even in lower-quality measurements. By simulation of the bounded electrons and considering the Doppler effects, we are able to demonstrate -the first ever- estimation for intrinsic Doppler resolution of an organic plastic scintillator. Even though, this possibility is an immediate result of benefiting the presented method for analysis of the Compton continua.