Identification of 210Pb and 210Po in the bulk of copper samples with a low-background alpha particle counter

K. Abe, K. Hiraide, K. Ichimura, Y. Kishimoto, K. Kobayashi, M. Kobayashi, S. Moriyama, M. Nakahata, T. Norita, H. Ogawa, K. Sato, H. Sekiya, O. Takachio, A. Takeda, S. Tasaka, M. Yamashita, B. S. Yang, N. Y. Kim, Y. D. Kim, Y. ItowK. Kanzawa, R. Kegasa, K. Masuda, H. Takiya, K. Fushimi, G. Kanzaki, K. Martens, Y. Suzuki, B. D. Xu, R. Fujita, K. Hosokawa, K. Miuchi, N. Oka, Y. Takeuchi, Y. H. Kim, K. B. Lee, M. K. Lee, Y. Fukuda, M. Miyasaka, K. Nishijima, S. Nakamura

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We established a method to assay 210Pb and 210Po contaminations in the bulk of copper samples using a low-background alpha particle counter. The achieved sensitivity for the 210Pb and 210Po contaminations reaches a few mBq/kg. Due to this high sensitivity, the 210Pb and 210Po contaminations in oxygen free copper bulk were identified and measured for the first time. The 210Pb contaminations of our oxygen free copper samples were 17–40 mBq/kg. Based on our investigation of copper samples in each production step, the 210Pb in oxygen free copper was understood to be a small residual of an electrolysis process. This method to measure bulk contaminations of 210Pb and 210Po could be applied to other materials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)157-161
Number of pages5
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume884
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018 Mar 11
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alpha spectroscopy
  • Copper
  • Pb
  • Po
  • Radio purity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Instrumentation

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