DICE: Apparatus for Detection of Internal Conversion Electrons

Abstract

An apparatus for the Detection of Internal Conversion Electrons (DICE) has been built and commissioned at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) for the study of recoil ion sources of 239Pu, which emit 235mU nuclei that deexcite to the ground state by emitting low-energy internal conversion (IC) electrons. We present an overview of DICE and its commissioning with 207Bi and 235mU electron sources, demonstrating that DICE allows the detection and counting of IC electrons from 235mU deexcitation. Our preliminary 235mU half-life of ≈ 26 min agrees with literature. DICE is thus an interesting tool to broaden analytical capabilities for recoil ion source characterization via studies of the peculiar decay of 235mU.