An Improved Paralyzable Detector Model

TL;DR

This paper introduces a two-parameter analytical model for paralyzable radiation detectors that accounts for finite response time, improving accuracy in high count rate scenarios and enabling faster data acquisition with reduced artifacts.

Contribution

The paper presents a corrected paralyzable detector model that incorporates finite response time, providing better data description and enabling effective pile-up correction.

Findings

Improved model fits experimental data more accurately.

Allows independent determination of response time and dead time.

Enables faster data acquisition with minimal accuracy loss.

Abstract

Certain radiation detectors are 'paralyzed' with high input count rates. When applied to count rates close to the event discriminator working rate the one-parameter dead time model fails. Here we present a corrected paralyzable detector model accounting for the event discriminator's finite response time. This two-parameter analytical model, when compared to the experimental data from a commercial x-ray detector, gives an improved description of the input and output count rate relations. Furthermore, it can independently determine the discriminator response time and the pulse shaper dead time, critical parameters for understanding a detector's performance. Finally, this model also provides a post-acquisition pile-up correction that greatly reduces artifacts in high-throughput spectra. In some situations, applying this model to optimize the acquisition and post-acquisition correction allows a user to acquire data an order of magnitude faster without compromising accuracy.