The new prompt gamma-ray activation facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland

Since October 1997, a new Prompt Gamma-ray Activation (PGA) facility at the neutron spallation source SINQ of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Vil ligen, Switzerland, is operational. The detection system includes a Compton -suppression spectrometer and a pair spectrometer. An interesting feature o f this PGA facility is the capillary-based neutron focusing optics which pe rmits scanning of samples and nuclear spectroscopy of isotopes having small capture cross sections. During the beam periods 1997 and 1998, measurement s were undertaken to characterize the PGA facility (gamma-ray background, e fficiencies of the two spectrometers, analytical sensitivities and detectio n limits for several elements, performances of the neutron lens). Elemental analyses of standards were also performed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.