A simple method for generation of background-free gamma-ray spectra

Abstract A simple and versatile method of generating background-free γ-ray spectra is presented. This method is equivalent to the generation of a continuous background baseline over the entire energy range of spectra corresponding to the original ones obtained with a Ge(Li) detector. These background curves can not be generally expressed in a single and simple analytic form nor in the form of a power series. The background-free spectra thus obtained make it feasible to assign many tiny peaks at the stage of visual inspection of the spectra, which is difficult to do with the original ones. The automatic peak-finding and peak-area calculation procedures are both applicable to these background-free spectra. Examples of the application are illustrated. The effect of the peak-shape distortion is also discussed.