Design and Development of a Mini-Orange Magnetic Spectrometer with Multichannel Facility for Conversion Electron Spectroscopy

Abstract

Received: August 15, 2020 Revised: September 24, 2020 Accepted: September 28, 2020 Published Online: November 09, 2020 Background: Conventional magnetic spectrometers used for conversion electron detection are very cumbersome, require strong magnetic fields and the spectra have to be scanned point by point and have very low transmission. A magnetic filter using permanent magnets and an Si(Li) detector would facilitate multichannel analysis with high transmission. The mini-orange is a new type of spectrometer for conversion electrons combining a solid state Si(Li) detector with a filter of permanent magnets around a central absorber of lead. Purpose: An indigenously developed magnetic spectrometer if optimized properly would be of great use in conversion electron spectroscopy for both online and offline experiments. Methods: A Mini-Orange magnetic spectrometer made of small permanent magnets has been designed and developed indigenously and optimized for its best performance condition. The transmission curves for different energy regions are plotted using the conversion electron spectra from the standard gamma transitions from 153Gd, 169Yb and 131Ba decays. The optimized spectrometer facilitates multichannel acquisition of conversion electron spectra for precision electron spectroscopy. The system also can be used in in-beam experiments with minor modifications of the vacuum chamber. Results: The optimized spectrometer was used for precision electron spectroscopy. Experimental transmission curves are then obtained by plotting Transmission (T) against the corresponding electron energy for low energy, medium energy and a broad energy range. Out of the several experiments done the optimum settings for f and g, that resulted in this curve, is identified at f = 7.5 cm and g = 4.5 cm. Conclusions: The optimized spectrometer facilitates multichannel acquisition of conversion electron spectra for precision electron spectroscopy. The system also can be used in in-beam experiments with minor modifications of the vacuum chamber.