Germanium detectors are able to measure the energy of gamma or beta rays to a resolution of approximately 0.1%. The energies of these photons are measured by the number of charge carriers they send free as they are absorbed into the detector.

We used this detector to perform a compositional analysis of a ceramic fragment, as well as a glass bottle and metal utensil for comparison. This was achieved by setting up a plutonium-boron neutron source to activate the sample, so that the radioactive decay of the material can be measured by the detector. Then the elements composing the material may be determined by reading the energy peaks and comparing them to known decay energies.