Method for optimizing energy spectrum data from scintillation type radiation detectors

A method of analyzing energy level of radiation detected by a radiation detector, said detector comprising a scintillation detector, a photomultiplier and a multichannel pulse height analyzer having a plurality of channels, each of said channels having a number, said method comprising the steps of:

• measuring magnitudes of pulses from said photomultiplier in said analyzer, said pulses generated in response to detections of radiation in said scintillation detector;
• causing said pulse height analyzer to conduct each of said pulses measured in said analyzer to one of said plurality of channels having said channel number corresponding to an output of an ordered expression having said magnitude of said pulses as an independent variable and a channel number corresponding to each of said plurality of channels as a dependent variable, said ordered expression calculated to substantially match an empirical relationship of said channel number with respect to said energy level determined for predetermined energy spectra, said output generated by said ordered expression in response to input of each of said magnitudes of said pulses, so that an event count of said plurality of channels is incremented each time one of said pulses is conducted to one of said plurality of channels.

An apparatus for analyzing the energy level of radiation, said apparatus comprising:

• a detector responsive to said radiation, said detector having an energy range, said detector generating output pulses having magnitudes corresponding to the energy of said radiation detected in said detector;
• and
• a analyzer coupled to said detector, said analyzer comprising an apparatus for measuring the magnitude of said output pulses generated by said detector and a counter comprising a plurality of channels, each of said channels counting output pulses occurring within a predetermined magnitude range, said analyzer programmed responsive to a predetermined relationship of said ranges with respect to said magnitude, said predetermined relationship having substantially equal numbers of said channels spanning radiation spectral peaks occurring over substantially all of said energy range.