NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Nonproportionality in the scintillation light yield of bismuth germanate
Published
Author(s)
Thomas R. Gentile, M J. Bales, H Breuer, T E. Chupp, Kevin J. Coakley, R L. Cooper, Jeffrey S. Nico, B. O'Neill
Abstract
We present measurements of nonproportionality in the scintillation light yield of bismuth germanate (BGO) for gamma-rays with energies between 6 keV and 662 keV. The scintillation light was read out by avalanche photodiodes (APDs) with both the BGO crystals and APDs operated at a temperature of ~90 K. Data were obtained using radioisotope sources to illuminate both a single BGO crystal in a small test cryostat and a 12-element detector in a neutron radiative beta-decay experiment. In addition one datum was obtained in a 4.6 T magnetic field based on the bismuth K x-ray escape peak produced by a continuum of background gamma rays in this apparatus. These measurements and comparison to prior results were motivated by an experiment to study the radiative decay mode of the free neutron. The combination of data taken under different conditions yields a reasonably consistent picture for BGO nonproportionality that should be useful for researchers employing BGO detectors at low gamma ray energies.
Citation
Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research A
Gentile, T.
, Bales, M.
, Breuer, H.
, Chupp, T.
, Coakley, K.
, Cooper, R.
, Nico, J.
and O'Neill, B.
(2014),
Nonproportionality in the scintillation light yield of bismuth germanate, Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research A, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2014.11.002
(Accessed October 6, 2025)