Overview

This page provides an in-depth overview of the Germanium Detector for Elemental Analysis and Radioactivity Studies (GEARS) system (Figure 1). GEARS has most notably been used to investigate the impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the shores of British Columbia, and in 2017 received a data acquisition system (DAQ) upgrade to allow for time-resolved gamma ray spectroscopy.

Fig. 1 The GEARS system

The GEARS system is comprised of a passively shielded high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector, a liquid nitrogen cooling system, a high voltage system, and a custom-built Computer Automated Measurement and Control (CAMAC) DAQ.

From testing done in 2017, the maximum resolution achievable by GEARS is ~1.7 keV at 1332.49 keV (Cobalt-60 source), which is only ~0.13 keV higher than the best theoretical resolution achievable by an HPGe system (assuming perfect charge collections, perfect electronics, and a Fano factor of 0.112).