Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 18, 2026

Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
Published on: November 9, 2015
Performance evaluation of MAGIX-UPu software for determination of uranium and plutonium isotopic composition with
1Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, List, Palaiseau, F-91120, France.
Abstract:
This study evaluates the performance of the MAGIX-UPu software for determining the isotopic composition of uranium (U) and plutonium (Pu) using medium-resolution gamma-ray detectors in nuclear industry applications. The analysis involves two Lanthanum Bromide (LaBr3) detectors of different sizes and an H3D gamma camera (Cadmium Zinc Telluride, CZT). Developed by CEA List, this code performs a comprehensive and automatic spectrum analysis, including calibration, peak deconvolution, and simultaneous determination of relative efficiency and isotopic composition. The analysis revealed that the H3D gamma camera provided significantly better results due to its superior energy resolution. The mass fractions of 239Pu can notably be obtained with an average total uncertainty of 1.3%. The results obtained for uranium spectra are also satisfying, with an average total uncertainty of 8.9% for 235U. With the LaBr3 detectors, MAGIX-UPu can determine the isotopic composition of U and Pu, but the poor resolution complicates the analysis and makes consistency checks difficult. Nevertheless, the results provided by MAGIX-UPu for plutonium are good compared to other software.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Instrumentation
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Instrumentation
There are three main types of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) instruments: sequential, simultaneous multichannel, and Fourier transform instruments, with the latter being less commonly used.
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Overview

