Measurement of absolute K X-ray emission intensities in the decay of 103mRh.

A new experiment was designed to measure the photon emission intensities in the decay of 103mRh. The rhodium samples were activated in the ISIS experimental nuclear reactor at CEA Saclay. The procedure includes an absolute activity measurement by liquid scintillation counting using the Triple-to-Double Coincidence Ratio method, followed by X-ray spectrometry using a high-purity germanium detector to determine the photon emission intensities. The new result (IX = 0.0825 (17)) is derived with a significant reduction of the uncertainty.

Improvement of the activity measurement method for solid dosimeters emitting X-rays.

Today, there is growing interest for neutrons in the intermediate energy range between 100keV and 1MeV, which are responsible for damaging materials in reactor. To improve this deficiency, we use rhodium and niobium which, through the inelastic neutron scattering reaction, leads to the formation of 103mRh and 93mNb low-energy X-emitters. This paper describes the improvements and validation made on this type of complex measurement by X spectrometry: self-attenuation, fluorescence correction, and emission intensity were poorly known previously.