A simple and economic method for accurate determination of the energy peak efficiency of 208 keV γ-ray of [sup.237]U based on [sup.241]Pu/[sup.237]U secular equilibrium

A new method is developed for the determination of energy peak efficiency of 208 keV γ-ray of [sup.237]U based on [sup.241]Pu/[sup.237]U secular equilibrium. Plutonium solution was purified to remove Am with Dowex 1 x 2 anion exchange chromatography and the concentration of [sup.241]Pu in the purified solution was determined using [sup.242]Pu isotope -dilution mass spectrometry on an inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The solution can be used as calibration source for the determination of energy peak efficiency of 208 keV γ-ray of [sup.237]U after 48 days. The method was validated for a planar HPGe detector at the 12 mm above the detector surface. The results showed that this is a simple and economic method for determining the energy peak efficiency of gamma detectors for 208 keV γ-ray of [sup.237]U. Keywords Energy peak efficiency * [sup.237]U * [sup.241]Pu * Secular equilibrium