Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 March 2019
The continuing development in recent years of mercuric iodide room temperature x-ray spectrometers has led to steady improvment in the spectral energy resolution capability of these systems. This has been due largely to the continuing reduction in the electronic noise level of the associated preamplification electronics. It has been demonstrated that a system consisting of a mercuric iodide detector in combination with a pulsed-optical feedback preamplifier provides superior energy resolution performance in x-ray spectrometry in comparison to the other types of preamplification. Previously, results have been reported by us of the energy resolution of such systems with both the detector and input FET of the preamplifier at room temperature and with the input FET cooled by liquid nitrogen and the mercuric iodide x-ray detectors lightly cooled.