Measurement of the Po-212, Po-214 and Pb-212 half-life time with Timepix3

AbstraktAbstract

The half-life times of the relatively short-lived alpha-decaying isotopes Po-212 and Po-214 were measured with a hybrid pixel detector of Timepix3 technology. Radon daughter products were collected at the backside of a 1 mm thick silicon sensor so that subsequent decays inject the polonium isotopes of interest shallowly into the backside of the sensor. The detector's high spatial and time resolution allow for particle identification and application of the delayed coincidence technique with low systematic uncertainty even at high rates. We find t(1/2)(212Po) = (295.02 +/- 0.18(stat.) +/- 0.17(syst.)) ns , and t(1/)(2)(214Po) = (163.64 +/- 0.038(stat.) +/- 0.093(syst.)) its. Studying the decay of the accumulated radon daughter products after removing the detector from the Rn-220 field, the half-life time of the beta-decay of Pb-212 was measured to be t(1/2)(212Pb) = (10.620 +/- 0.011(stat.) +/- 0.014(syst.)) h. The results are discussed in the context of previous works.

The half-life times of the relatively short-lived alpha-decaying isotopes Po-212 and Po-214 were measured with a hybrid pixel detector of Timepix3 technology. Radon daughter products were collected at the backside of a 1 mm thick silicon sensor so that subsequent decays inject the polonium isotopes of interest shallowly into the backside of the sensor. The detector's high spatial and time resolution allow for particle identification and application of the delayed coincidence technique with low systematic uncertainty even at high rates. We find t(1/2)(212Po) = (295.02 +/- 0.18(stat.) +/- 0.17(syst.)) ns , and t(1/)(2)(214Po) = (163.64 +/- 0.038(stat.) +/- 0.093(syst.)) its. Studying the decay of the accumulated radon daughter products after removing the detector from the Rn-220 field, the half-life time of the beta-decay of Pb-212 was measured to be t(1/2)(212Pb) = (10.620 +/- 0.011(stat.) +/- 0.014(syst.)) h. The results are discussed in the context of previous works.