The WinALPHA code for the analysis of alpha-particle spectra

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Abstract

This paper presents a new code for processing alpha-particle spectra taken with semiconductor detectors. Its main characteristics are described as well as the results of several tests made with reference spectra. The code is freely available from the Physics Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Introduction

WinALPHA is a software package for the analysis of alpha-particle spectra taken with semiconductor detectors. It is intended to provide a state-of-the-art tool for training and as a beginning software. It has been developed in the frame of a Coordinated Research Programme of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Development and Applications of Alpha-Particle Spectrometry).

WinALPHA features a Windows-based Graphical User Interface and is written in C++, except the fitting engines, which are written in FORTRAN. It can be downloaded from the server of the Physics Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency. http://www.iaea.org/programmes/ripc/physics/software.

The program performs a non-linear fit of alpha-particle spectra and computes the areas and positions of the selected peaks. The calculation of the uncertainties is based on the covariance matrix of the fitting.

WinALPHA has a built-in help that guides the user and includes a “how to” section.

Section snippets

Main WinALPHA features

Being a general-purpose code, WinALPHA represents a compromise between ease of operation, stability and performances. Some of its most important features are:

  • Powerful tools for importing data files of various formats.

  • A new analytical model to describe alpha peaks.

  • A database of energies and emission probabilities for the most common alpha emitters.

  • A minimization algorithm able to provide both peak intensities and positions as well as their corresponding uncertainties.

  • Specific units of code for

Conclusions

The tests indicate that WinALPHA is a useful tool to perform basic spectral analysis in alpha-particle spectrometry. It is a user-friendly code, with good numerical stability and implements all basic functions with a good overall performance.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Ulf Rosengard from the Physics Section, IAEA, for his interest in the development of this code. This work was partially financed by IAEA, under Research Contract 11254.

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