New HPGe-BGO pair spectrometer aims to sharpen high-energy gamma-ray detection

Researchers have unveiled a novel HPGe-BGO pair spectrometer designed to boost the performance of high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors when measuring high-energy gamma rays. The instrument is described in an open-access research article published in EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation on 26 September 2025.

The design pairs an HPGe detector with a bismuth germanate (BGO) shield. According to the authors, the BGO component can also operate as a standalone detector, enabling the selective detection of positron annihilation. The compact geometry was optimized so the spectrometer can be used together with ELIADE, the HPGe array at the VEGA beamline of ELI-NP.

The reported work covers the instrument’s design, results from two commissioning runs with high-energy gamma rays, and an outlook toward future applications. The commissioning runs were carried out with high-energy gamma-ray sources to test the spectrometer’s performance, and the authors frame the study as a report on a new design rather than a completed characterization across all operating conditions.

The article lists a collaboration of authors from several institutions, including Ilja Homm and Thorsten Kröll, with contributions from groups associated with the VEGA and ELI-NP facilities. The paper is published open access, and the reported access count at the publisher’s site reflects reader interest since publication.

Future applications named in the abstract remain an outlook; the published evidence describes the design and its commissioning tests, not yet deployed experimental campaigns. Readers should therefore treat the performance claims as those of the commissioning runs reported by the authors.

Subject of Research: Design and commissioning of a novel HPGe-BGO pair spectrometer for high-energy gamma-ray detection

Article Title: A novel HPGe-BGO pair spectrometer

Article References: Homm, I., Kröll, T., Henrich, C., Rhee, H.-B., Richter, D., Rudigier, M., von Tresckow, M., Dunkel, F., Fransen, C., Karayonchev, V., von Spee, F., Colombi, G., Michelagnoli, C., Pommier, R., Balabanski, D. L., Suliman, G., & Ur, C. A. (2025). A novel HPGe-BGO pair spectrometer. EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation, 12(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjti/s40485-025-00118-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1140/epjti/s40485-025-00118-2

Keywords: HPGe detector, BGO shield, pair spectrometer, gamma rays, ELIADE, VEGA, ELI-NP, nuclear physics, positron annihilation, detector instrumentation, open access, novel