Analysis and interpretation of gamma and alpha spectra with a small real-time computer

The vast amount of information collected by modern semi-conductor detectors has led to a wide-spread use of computers in interpreting and evaluating the spectra. This paper describes the interpretation of complex alpha and gamma ray spectra using a small PDP8/I computer. The program includes a subroutine to smooth the accumulated data by convolution techniques. The detection of significant photopeaks in Ge(Li) spectra and the calculation of their boundaries, area and energy are described. An empirical function fitting the count rate distribution of surface barrier detector alpha spectra is proposed. The results obtained by a spectrum stripping routine using this function, are presented.