The Operational Characteristics of a
Sodium Iodide Scintillation Counting System
as a Single-Channel Analyzer
W.-H. Wang
Abstract
Scintillation counters have widespread uses in
measuring gamma rays and low-energy beta rays.
The sodium iodide (NaI) scintillator has a high
attenuation coefficient for the interaction of
gamma rays and gives high efficiency and good
resolution of gamma rays. When the analyzer of
the counting system is in the differential mode,
both lower and upper discriminators are used and
the scintillation counting system is called a single
channel analyzer (SCA). The primary application
of an SCA is to discriminate between a desired
radiation and other radiation that may be con-
sidered noise. In this article, the principles and
components of a typical single channel analyzer
will be discussed. Also, five typical operating
procedures will be described regarding:
1. determination of the operating voltage for the
photomultiplier (PM) tube;
2. calibration of a spectrometer for
a particular gamma-ray energy;
3. establishment of a differential spectrum of a
gamma-ray emitter;
4. computation of the energy resolution of the
NaI detector; and
5. calculation of the counting efficiency of the
single channel analyzer.
28
Introduction
The scintillation detector with a NaI crystal
doped with thallium [NaI(Tl)] as activation
impurities is one of the best instruments for
counting gamma rays. The most prominent
property of NaI(Tl) is its excellent light yield. The
high atomic number of iodine in NaI results in
high efficiency for gamma ray detection. The best
resolution achievable is about 7% for the 662-keV
gamma ray from Cs-137 for a 3-inch diameter by
3-inch long NaI crystal. Besides, NaI(Tl) is almost
linear in its energy response.[1] It has come to be
accepted as the standard scintillation material for
routine gamma ray spectroscopy. For a scintil-
lation counter, a gamma ray with a given energy
will deposit this energy in the NaI(Tl) crystal by
excitation and ionization. Only the amount of
excitation which causes electronic transitions to
excited states in the luminescent material is
proportional to the energy of the gamma ray. The
excited states decay by emitting flashes of light
known as scintillation photons in 0.23 micro-
second.[2] After the scintillation photons strike the
photocathode, photoelectrons are ejected at the
photocathode. Again, the number of photo-
electrons is proportional to the energy of the
gamma ray. Then the electrons are accelerated to a
dynode. When the photo-multiplier tube is
operated at a high voltage, there will be multi-
plication of the photoelectrons. The degree of
multiplication depends upon the voltage applied.
The higher the voltage, the greater the
multiplication, and so the greater
Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003
 the pulse size formed at the anode. The sizes of
the pulses produced at the anode are usually on
the order of tens of millivolts. Since pulses within
this size range are too small for proper operation
of the counter which operates in the range of 0 to
10 volts, a linear amplifier is required. Therefore,
the sizes of the output pulses are directly
proportional to the sizes of the input pulses. The
output pulses are sorted according to size by an
analyzer before counting and thus gamma rays
with different energies can be counted individual-
ly. The analyzer has a base and an upper discrimi-
nator and can be operated in either integral or
differential mode. The sizes of pulses passed
depend on the discriminator settings. Only the
base discriminator is used in the integral mode. It
is set to block pulses below a certain size and also
Figure 1. Canberra scintillation counting system as a single-channel analyzer
Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003
to eliminate a large number of small noise pulses
mainly from the photocathode. In the differential
mode, two discriminators are used to establish an
energy window in which the pulses must fall to be
passed. The scintillation counter operating in the
differential mode is called a single channel
analyzer (SCA). The main use of the SCA is to
measure one radioisotope in the presence of
another, or to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio
when measuring a low activity source in the
presence of a significant background.[3]
The essentials of an SCA consist of the
NaI(Tl) detector, a high voltage power supply, a
29
linear amplifier, a pulse height analyzer, and a
readout device. A typical SCA is shown in
Figure 1.
Experimental Apparatus
1. Canberra Model 1000 Portable Bin/Power
Supply is used to provide mounting space and
power sources for up to six standard nuclear
instrumentation module (NIM) widths.
2. Canberra Model 3102D Power Supply is a
high voltage power supply designed for
operation with scintillation PM tube detectors.
The output voltage is regulated up to ± 2,000
VDC with 1 mA of output current capability.
3. Canberra Model 2015A AMP/ TSCA is a
combination of a spectroscopy amplifier with
gated base line restoration and a timing single
channel pulse height analyzer. In the SCA
(single channel analyzer) mode of operation, a
logic signal output is generated whenever the
amplifier unipolar signal falls between the
energy levels determined by the front panel
controls (E and ∆E).
4. Canberra Model 2071A Dual Counter Timer
is a preset timer and event counter under
normal operation. The Model 2071A
accommodates input counting rates of 100
million counts per second for negative inputs
and 25 million counts per second for positive
inputs.
5. Canberra Model 802-3W Scintillation
Detector includes a 2-inch × 2-inch NaI (Tl)
crystal, a photomultiplier tube, an internal
magnetic/light shield, and a chrome plated
aluminum housing. The crystal has a well
with dimensions of 0.656-inch in diameter
and 1.546-inch in length. The Model 802-3W
has a 9% resolution specified at 662 keV of
cesium-137.
6. Canberra Model 2007P Photomultiplier Tube
Base/Preamplifier contains a tube base, a
voltage divider, a focus control, and a
preamplifier. The Model 2007P is designed
for compatibility with the Canberra Model
802-3W scintillation detector. The
preamplifier integrates the charge impulse
30
from the anode of the photomultiplier tube to
the pulse-shaping main amplifier such as
Canberra Model 2015A.
7. Two cesium-137 point sources were utilized.
One source of 370,000 disintegrations per
minute (dpm) on February 1, 1975 was used
for the determination of the operating voltage.
Another source of 7.0 µCi on December 23,
1976 was used for the energy calibration and
the Cs-137 spectrum. The activity of the
calibration source must be carefully selected
in order to avoid the correction for the
coincidence loss. When the counting rate is
about 400,000 counts per minute, the coinci-
dence loss due to the resolving time of the
scintillation counter is not greater than one
percent. If the count rate exceeds 600,000
counts per minute, the surfaces of the dynodes
in the PM tube will be adversely affected. The
effect will be seen as a shift in gain and is
called fatigue.
Determination of the Operating Voltage
Most PM tubes commonly used with a NaI
(Tl) crystal operate well in the 800-volt to 1,100-
volt range. A good high voltage setting can be
obtained by plotting the integral count rate vs.
high voltage curve with an analyzer in the integral
mode. As a good rule of thumb, the operating
voltage should be selected relatively close to the
threshold voltage (within the lower 25% of the
plateau). Since the plateau curves for different
gamma-emitting nuclides vary somewhat, the
operating potential must be determined
individually for each isotope used.[4] In order to
obtain a good voltage curve, at least 30 minutes
should elapse after each increase in voltage to
allow the PM tube to stabilize. This warm-up
period helps minimize the variations in output
voltage and ambient temperature due to the
voltage shifts in the PM tube. The operating
voltage should be chosen to avoid the rapidly
rising thermal noise level at the higher voltages
and to help preserve the life of the PM tube. The
operating voltage is determined on statistical
grounds as that voltage where the ratio of the
Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003
Table/Chart 1. Result A

Determination of the Operating Voltage

Voltage Gross BKG Net (Gross)2 /
(volts) (cpm) (cpm) (cpm) BKG
400 30 28 2 32
450 75 57 18 99
500 31,709 89 31,620 11,297,311
550 43,720 142 43,578 13,460,834
600 59,430 207 59,223 17,062,439
650 67,912 234 67,678 19,709,572
700 72,194 260 71,934 20,046,052
750 75,494 269 75,225 21,187,153
800 85,725 273 85,452 26,918,592
850 86,946 284 86,662 26,618,334
900 87,762 290 87,472 26,559,202
950 88,717 302 88,415 26,061,941
1,000 90,310 313 89,997 26,057,176
1,050 92,217 393 91,824 21,638,613
1,100 94,048 853 93,195 10,369,316
* Gross: gross sample count rate in count per minute
** BKG: background count rate in count per minute
*** Net: net count rate in count per minute = (Gross - BKG)

Plot of Integral Count Rate vs. High Voltage

100000
NET COUNT RATE
80000
count rate (cpm)

60000

40000

20000

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
voltage (volts)

Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003 31

square of the gross sample count rate to the total
background count rate is at maximum.[5]
Typical Operating Procedure
1. Use a Cs-137 source and set the analyzer in
the integral/normal mode. For integral
counting, a separate signal cable should be
attached to the connector labeled “DISC” on
the rear panel of the AMP/TSCA module and
the connector labeled “A-IN” on the front
panel of the DUAL COUNTER TIMER
(Figure 1).
2. Set the base discriminator at 30 to eliminate
the noise pulses from the PM tube.
3. Set the coarse gain and fine gain at 8 and 500,
respectively.
4. Start the counter and increase the voltage until
counts are registered.
5. Set the voltage at the nearest 50-volt value
where counts are registered.
6. Take a one-minute count and repeat at 50-volt
increments. Stop at 1,100 volts.
7. Repeat the above procedures without the
source to determine the background.
8. Determine the operating voltage from the
data.
9. Plot the net integral counts on the ordinate
versus the operating voltage on the abscissa of
linear graph paper. Draw a best fit curve.
Results
Results for this typical operating procedure are
shown in Table/Chart 1 (result A). From the
experimental data, 800-volt was selected as the
operating voltage.
Energy Calibration
Single Channel Analyzer
A single channel analyzer (SCA) must be
calibrated before performing any sorting of the
pulse sizes produced in the analyzer. A cesium-
137 source that emits gamma rays with a known
32
energy of 662 keV is chosen for the calibration. A
window can be established using the base and
upper discriminators. This window must be wide
enough to allow a narrow range in pulse sizes to
get through, but not too wide or the calibration
will be inaccurate. A window about 20 divisions
wide is usually acceptable. This window should
be placed on the division scale of the base
discriminator so that a division will correspond to
a gamma ray with a given energy. For this
experiment, the base discriminator should be set at
652 and with a 20-division window and so the
center is at 662. With this analyzer setup, pulses
with a size between 6.52 and 6.72 volts will pass
through this window. A calibration plot of Cs-137
is also established to provide the complete
information on the shape of the photopeak and
help confirm the discriminator settings.
Typical Operating Procedure
1. Set the high voltage at the operating voltage.
2. Set the analyzer in the differential/window
mode. For differential mode, a separate signal
cable should be attached to the connector
labeled “SCA” on the front panel of the
AMP/TSCA and the connector labeled “A-
IN” on the front panel of the Dual COUNTER
TIMER (Figure 1).
3. Set the upper discriminator to operate in the 1
V range and establish a 0.2 V window. Set the
base discriminator at 712.
4. Set the coarse gain and fine gain at 8 and 500,
respectively.
5. Place a Cs-137 source on the detector and
start counting. Decrease the fine gain until
almost no counts are registered. Record the
coarse and fine gain settings.
6. Slowly increase voltage until scaler registers
counts. Record the voltage setting.
7. Reset window twenty units lower and repeat
process until the photopeak is defined by data
using ten-second counts.
8. Adjust fine gain to position peak at 652 units.
Since the photopeak is almost symmetrical,
the highest count should be at 652 with the
counts at 632 and 672 being lower and nearly
Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003
 equal. The settings at 612 and 692 should also
give nearly equal counts. It will be very
helpful to have a published Cs-137 spectrum
at hand to locate the photopeak of 662 keV
gamma rays.
9. Start at a base discriminator of 12.
10. Take a one-minute count.
11. Raise the base 20 divisions and repeat the
count.
12. Continue this procedure until the count rate
has dropped significantly.
13. Remove the Cs-137 source and measure the
background spectrum with the same settings.
14. Correct the counts in the Cs-137 spectrum for
background.
15. Plot the net count rate of Cs-137 on the
ordinate versus the base discriminator setting
on the abscissa of linear graph paper.
16. Draw a smooth curve through the points.
Check to ensure the peak is at 652.
Results
Results for this typical operating procedure are
shown in Table 2 on the following page (result
B).When the coarse-gain and fine-gain settings
were 8 and 50 individually, there were almost no
counts registered. The scaler started registering
counts when the voltage was increased to 820
volts.
Resolution
The quality of a given scintillation counting
system is often characterized by the magnitude of
its energy resolution. The system resolution is a
measure of the photopeak sharpness. Resolution is
defined as the ratio of the full width at half-
maximum (FWHM) of the full energy peak
(called the “photopeak” when dealing with photon
detectors) to the energy midpoint of the full
energy peak.[3] Thus, the resolution is dimen-
sionless fraction conventionally expressed as a
percentage. With a small resolution, the detector is
able to separate two radiations whose energies are
close together.
Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003
From the above Cs-137 spectrum, the FWHM
is approximate 60 keV. Therefore,
FWHM
% resolution = × 100
photopeak energy
60 keV
= × 100
662 keV
= 9.1%
which is almost identical to the guaranteed
FWHM value from the manufacturer’s data. This
ensures that consumers are not misled by the
advertisements of the detector manufacturers.
Counting Efficiency
After the analyzer has been calibrated for the
desired energy range and the spectrum of the Cs-
137 to be counted is known, the relative counting
efficiency of the NaI detector should be
determined using a calibrated source. Counting
efficiency can be calculated using the ratio of the
net count rate to the absolute activity of a
radionuclide. The geometry of the detector and
source arrangements must be fixed in order to
have a constant counting efficiency.
Typical Operating Procedure
1. Use Cs-137 as a calibrated gamma source.
2. Set the coarse gain and fine gain as
determined previously (8 and 337,
respectively in this case).
3. Set the high voltage as determined previously
(820 volts in this case).
4. Set the analyzer in the differential mode.
5. Choose a window of 0.2 V which straddles
the photopeak for the source.
6. Take five successive one-minute counts
7. Calculate the average count rate.
8. Calculate the current absolute activity.
9. Calculate the counting efficiency.
33
Table 2. Result B
Energy Calibration (count per ten seconds)

Fine Gain Setting on the Amplifier

Base* 50 400 200 300 330 340 336 338 337

712 367 56,565 1,170 2,053 4,307 7,085 5,610 6,300 6,032

692 452 42,970 1,307 3,290 13,462 22,158 18,118 19,585 19,362

672 480 20,158 1,422 8,915 36,873 48,672 44,732 46,717 46,088

652 627 9,312 1,548 28,630 60,798 61,677 61,917 61,708 61,753

632 702 3,493 1,795 57,822 53,283 41,412 46,878 44,050 45,092

612 838 2,193 2,345 60,353 25,363 16,235 19,525 17,905 18,648

592 1,028 2,185 4,705 31,520 7,838 5,053 6,037 5,375 5,442

* Base: base discriminator setting

** instrument settings: high voltage = 820 volts; coarse gain = 8

From the above experimental data, the optimal operating conditions for this counting system are coarse gain of 8,
fine gain of 337, and high voltage of 820 volts.
Determination of Cs-137 Spectrum (counts per minute)

Base Gross BKG Net Base Gross BKG Net

12 128,918 11 128,907 412 47,474 6 47,468

32 451,605 7 451,598 432 40,508 5 40,503

52 96,787 9 96,778 452 33,004 3 33,001

72 87,337 11 87,326 472 26,526 2 26,524

92 83,560 15 83,545 492 21,200 1 21,199

112 83,764 10 83,754 512 17,466 1 17,465

132 84,775 14 84,761 532 14,962 3 14,959

152 86,113 12 86,101 552 13,727 5 13,722

172 96,574 19 96,555 572 15,528 2 15,526

192 121,525 10 121,515 592 32,203 4 32,199

212 113,595 13 113,582 612 107,993 6 107,987

232 95,849 9 95,840 632 265,204 3 265,201

252 86,349 12 86,337 652 369,256 1 369,255

272 79,594 4 79,590 672 276,896 3 276,893

292 75,554 4 75,550 692 118,188 2 118,186

312 71,361 7 71,354 712 37,268 2 37,266

332 68,855 8 68,847 732 16,031 4 16,027

352 64,682 4 64,678 752 11,379 0 11,379

372 60,346 5 60,341 772 9,402 1 9,401

392 54,175 6 54,169 792 8,387 2 8,385

* instrument settings: high voltage = 820 volts; coarse gain = 8; fine gain = 337

See also Chart B on following page.

34 Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003

Chart 2. Result B

Cs-137 Spectrum
500000
NET COUNT RATE
400000
count rate (cpm)

300000

200000

100000

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
base discriminator setting

Results
A = A0 e -λt
The data of five successive one-minute counts dis
are follows: 3.7 × 10 4
= 7.0 µCi × sec
1µCi
Gross BKG Net
− 0.693
(cpm) (cpm (cpm) 60 sec 30yr
× 21.9yr
× ×e
) 1 min
dis
365,378 1 365,377 = 9,370,134
min
376,941 3 376,938
363,190 4 363,186 where:
371,007 1 371,006 A is the amount of activity left after time t;
357,600 3 357,597 A0 is the initial quantity of activity;
Average =
366,823 λ is the transformation constant (= 0.693 / half-
cpm life ); and
t is the decay time.

The activity of Cs-137 was 7.0 µCi on

December 23, 1976 and the half-life of Cs-137 Therefore,
is 30 years (U.S. Public Health Service, 1970,
p.303). The test was performed on November
20, 1998. The activity of Cs-137 on the test
date was obtained using the decay equation

Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003 35

counting efficiency =
366,823 count
min × 100%
9,370,134 dis
min
= 3.9%
Conclusion
Following this operational, step-by-step
procedure, a complete setup and calibration for an
SCA has been demonstrated. There are many
different types of detectors and nuclear instrument
modules (NIMs) from various vendors. However,
the basic principles and operation of an SCA
apply to all. For different isotopes, the operating
procedures are similar to those for Cs-137 only
with slight modification on the base discriminator
setting.
References
1. Turner, J.E., Atoms, Radiation, and Radiation
Protection. New York: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 1995.
2. Knoll, G.F., Radiation Detection and
Measurement. New York: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 1989.
3. Cember, H., Introduction to Health Physics.
New York: Pergamon Press, 1990.
4. Wang, C.H. and Willis, D.L., Radiation
Methodology in Biological Science.
Englewood Cliff, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
1965.
5. Wang, C.H., Willis, D.L., and Loveland,
W.D., Radiotracer Methodology in the
Biological, Environmental, and Physical
Sciences. Englewood Cliff, N.J.: Prentice-
Hall, Inc., 1975.
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36
6. Radiological Health Handbook, Revised ed.,
U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare,
Public Health Service, Rockville, M.D., 1970.
The Author
Wei-Hsung Wang received his MS in
Environmental Health Engineering from
Northwestern University, and his BS in Geology
from National Taiwan University. He is currently
a PhD candidate at Purdue University. In his
native Taiwan, he served the Ministry of National
Defense within its occupational health and safety
control program. He also worked as Research
Associate for the Research, Development, and
Evaluation Commission to examine the nuclear
safety regulations for the Atomic Energy Council.
Previous work experience includes a position as
Environmental Health Consultant for Cendai
Industrial Company Ltd. In the United States, he
served both Northwestern University and Purdue
University in their respective radiation health and
industrial hygiene laboratories, and he has been a
teaching assistant while pursuing his graduate
studies. In Illinois, he also worked for Landauer,
Inc. as Research and Development Technologist.
Mr. Wang is a plenary member of the Health
Physics Society and a full member of the
American Industrial Hygiene Association.
School of Health Sciences
1338 Civil Engineering Building
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1338
Phone: 765/494-1530
Fax: 765/496-1377
e-mail: weihsung@purdue.edu
Radiation Protection Management ▪ Volume 20, No. 5 ▪ 2003