Computer simulation of backscattered alpha particles

Alpha-particle spectrometry forms an important aspect of radionuclide metro logy. Accurate measurements require corrections to be made for factors such as self-absorption within the source and backscattering from the backing m aterial. The theory of the latter phenomenon has only received limited atte ntion. Furthermore the experimental verification of these theoretical resul ts requires adequate counting statistics for a variety of sources with diff erent activities. These problems could be resolved by computer simulations of the various interactions which occur as alpha-particles move through dif ferent materials. The pioneering work of Ziegler and his coworkers over sev eral years, has provided the sophisticated software (SRIM) which has enable d us to obtain the results presented here. These results are compared with theoretical and experimental values obtained previously. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.