OPTIMIZATION OF IRRADIATION CONDITIONS FOR PHOTON-ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL-SAMPLES USING A HIGH-POWER ELECTRON-ACCELERATOR

Using the bremsstrahlung flux density data of Tanaka et al. (1983), the PHOTAC code has been developed to calculate the activity induced in a sample during photon activation as a function of the geometrical arrangement of the electron energy and the beam profile. Some results are given for sample volumes from 1 to 1000 cm(3) and sample distances from 1 to 10 cm at 25 MeV. Examples for the application of the PHOTAC code to estimate the maximum activity output and to minimize the heating up of the sample during irradiation are discussed.