Partial and total thermal neutron capture cross sections for non-destructive assay and transmutation monitoring of Tc-99

摘要

Accurate partial gamma-ray production cross sections were determined for the prompt and radioactive product decay gamma rays following cold neutron capture in Tc-99. They can be used for non-destructive assay of technetium by prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) and neutron activation analysis (NAA), offering orders of magnitude higher analytical sensitivities than passive gamma-ray counting. A lower limit of 21.21 +/- 0.17 b was also deduced for the thermal-neutron-capture cross section. [References: 11]