Design and gamma sensitivity measurement of a novel dual-emitter vacuum Compton detector

A novel dual-emitter vacuum Compton detector (D-VCD) with higher gamma ray detecting efficiency is proposed. The emitters are made of Ta–Al clad metal. The gamma ray sensitivity is studied by Monte Carlo simulation using the MCNP code. A comparison between calculations and results measured by using the 1.25 MeV gamma ray of Co-60 is also performed. Experimental sensitivities for two sample D-VCDs with the same materials and structures are 1.92 × 10−20 and 2.02×10−20 C · cm2/MeV separately, which are consistent with the simulation result of 1.98×10−20 C · cm2/MeV and are 4 times higher than that of VCD with a single Fe emitter. According to the simulation results, in a gamma energy range from 0.5 to 3 MeV, the maximum sensitivity variance for the D-VCD is less than 15%, and less than 5% in a range from 1 to 2 MeV in particular. The novel D-VCD is applicable to the detection of intense pulse gamma rays.