DocumentCode :
1096881
Title :
Background in X-ray astronomy proportional counters
Author :
Bower, C.R. ; Dietz, K.L. ; Ramsey, B.D. ; Weisskopf, M.C.
Author_Institution :
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, AL, USA
Volume :
38
Issue :
2
fYear :
1991
fDate :
4/1/1991 12:00:00 AM
Firstpage :
585
Lastpage :
590
Abstract :
The authors report the results of an investigation into the nature of background events in proportional counters sensitive to X-ray photons having energy <150 keV. Even with the use of thick shields composed of high-atomic-number material, a significant flux background in the detector´s energy region call result from multiple Compton scattering in the mass surrounding the active region of the detector. The importance of the selection of detector components in the reduction of the background by more than an order of magnitude is emphasized. Experimental results are shown to agree qualitatively with Monte Carlo simulations. It is concluded that escape gating is a powerful means of determining the nature of background in flight detectors: the single/pair ratios reveal whether the detected events are charged particles or photons
Keywords :
Monte Carlo methods; X-ray astronomy; X-ray detection and measurement; astronomical telescopes; proportional counters; Monte Carlo simulations; X-ray astronomy proportional counters; X-ray photons; active region; background events; charged particles; escape gating; flight detectors; flux background; high-atomic-number material; multiple Compton scattering; single/pair ratios; telescope; thick shields; Absorption; Astronomy; Cathodes; Counting circuits; Event detection; Fluorescence; Instruments; X-ray detection; X-ray detectors; Xenon;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
0018-9499
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/23.289361
Filename :
289361
Link To Document :
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