Module timetable
17-21 February 2025.
Module overview
Credits
This module is worth 15 credits.
| Module structure | Hours of study |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 12 hours |
| Practicals | 20 hours |
| Tutorials/discussions | 5 hours |
| Private study | 38 hours |
| Post-course assignment | 75 hours |
Topics
- Radioactive decay and the origin of gamma radiation and X radiation; sources and quantities of radionuclides
- Interaction of gamma radiation with matter
- Features of a gamma spectrum
- Germanium detectors: semiconductors and mechanisms, types of detector available, detector specification (resolution, efficiency, peak to Compton ratio)
- Pulse processing; pulse types; preamplifiers, unipolar, bipolar, gated integrator; impedance
- Preamplifiers: resistive feedback and transistor reset
- Linear amplifiers: pole-zero cancellation, baseline restoration, pile-up rejection
- ADC function: differential and integral linearity; conversion gain and resolution; Wilkinson and successive approximation ADCs; system dead time and dead time correction methods
- Digital signal processing.
Module leader
Professor Dave Joss.
Contact
Email: David.Joss@liverpool.ac.uk.
Back to: Department of Physics