A spectrum stripping method for the computer-coupled activation analysis of unknown samples by γ-ray spectrometry

A spectrum stripping method for the computer-coupled activation analysis of unknown samples using γ-ray spectrometry is discussed. Before the unscrambling of the γ-ray is performed using standard spectra of the components, each spectrum is smoothed, statistically weighted and corrected for background. The photopeaks of the standard spectra are then aligned with the respective peaks of the sample spectrum, one at a time after correcting for gain drift if necessary, and the undesired components are stripped out. After successive subtraction, the characteristic spectrum of the desired element is compared with that of the standard to determine its weight. The results obtained using the present method are as good as those obtained from least-squares analysis in ideal cases, but appear to be better when assumptions inherent in the least-squares method are no longer valid.