Experimental unfolding of X-ray spectra using a compton spectrometer

Direct measurement of X-ray spectrum is a challenging issue because of high photon flux, and the increased Pile-up effect, and the dead time. In this study, a Compton spectrometer is constructed and tested for X-ray spectrometry. The spectrometer is composed of a shielded chamber, a scattering rod, and an HPGe semiconductor detector. The spectrum of the X-rays scattered by the scattering rod which was recorded in the HPGe detector, along with the detector response matrix was used for unfolding the primary X-ray photon. The ill-conditioned systems of the equation were solved by the regularization methods based on the single values decomposition. The unfolded X-ray spectra and the HVL were compared with the theoretical spectrum of the IPEM 78 report catalog. The results indicate that the X-ray spectrum may be unfolded using this indirect method with sufficient accuracy. According to the results, Compton spectrometry can be used for spectrum measurement, as a part of the quality control of the X-ray machine. •Direct spectrometry of X-ray generators is affected by high photon flux, increasing Pile-up effect, and dead time.•A Compton spectrometer is constructed and tested for X-ray spectrometry in this study.•The spectrum of the X-rays scattered by a scattering rod inside the spectrometer chamber.•The Modified truncated Single Value Decomposition was used for unfolding the X-ray spectra.•The unfolded spectra and the HVL were compared with the theoretical spectra of the IPEM 78 report.