The use of photon activation analysis for the determination of Sm,Eu, Gd and Dy in boron carbide

An installation for photon activation analysis recently completed at CBNM, Geel, is described. Synthetic standards prepared from pure graphite are used for the non-destructive determination of lanthanides in boron carbide. The induced activities of¹⁵³Sm,^152mEu,¹⁵⁹Gd and¹⁵⁷Dy were measured using a single open-ended coaxial Ge(Li) detector and the photopeak areas were calculated using the GAFIT program. For the irradiation parameters used, the limits of detection are communicated. This paper has been presented at the 5th Symposium on the Recent Developments in Activation Analysis. 17th–21st July, 1978, St. Catherine's College, Oxford.