A Nuclear Detector Gain Stabilizing Technique with Only One Stable Gain Position

A nuclear radiation detector gain stabilizing scheme has been developed which offers the unique advantage of having only one stable operating gain position by utilizing a gated radioactive source and broad digital windows. This scheme can be used on space missions or other remote locations where turn-on adjustments would be difficult or impossible, as well as on large detector arrays where such adjustments would be very time consuming. The technqiue has been incorporated into the Gamma Ray Spectrometer on NASA's Solar Maximum Mission, where an overall pulse height resolution of ~ 7% at 0.662 MeV, with a seven-detector array of 7.6 cm × 7.6 cm NaI scintillators, is realized. This work was supported by NASA under Grant NGL 30-002-021 and contract NAS 5-23761.