A Novel 3He Scintillation Detector

Knoll, G.F.; Henderson, Thomas M.; Felmlee, W. J.

doi:10.1109/tns.1987.4337387

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While boron-lined proportional counting tubes have shown promise [2,3], several groups have been working on novel neutron detection materials with promising recent results, notably Cs 2 LiYCl 6 (or simply CLYC) [4] and PSD-enabled plastic scintillators [5,6]. Other groups have investigated composite scintillators -heterogenous materials composed of neutron-sensitive grains embedded in a supporting plastic matrix -for their potential application in both basic neutron detection [7][8][9] and capture-gated neutron spectrometry [10,11].…”

Section: The 3 He Supply Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though many other design features may vary, the plastic matrix serves as an effective moderator for fast neutrons incident on a composite detector, making such detectors sensitive to a broad range of incident neutron energies without the need for additional moderation [7]. Early composite detector work by Knoll et al embedded thinwalled glass spheres containing high-pressure 3 He in scintillating plastic; neutrons would enter the volume and be captured on 3 He nuclei, with the escaping reaction products depositing energy in the scintillating matrix and producing detectable signals [8,9]. Numerous recent efforts have focused on composites loaded with the inorganic, neutron-sensitive scintillator lithium gadolinium borate (LGB), which have shown promise as both a neutron detector [7,[10][11][12] and an antineutrino detector [13]; in these composites, the scintillation light produced by neutron capture on any of the constituent nuclei of LGB originates within the embedded grains themselves.…”

Section: Operating Principles Of Composite Scintillatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Fabrication and characterization of a lithium-glass-based composite neutron detector

Rich

Kazkaz

Martínez

et al. 2015

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A novel composite, scintillating material intended for neutron detection and composed of small (1.5 mm) cubes of KG2-type lithium glass embedded in a matrix of scintillating plastic has been developed in the form of a 2.2 in.diameter, 3.1 in.-tall cylindrical prototype loaded with (5.82 ± 0.02) % lithium glass by mass. The response of the material when exposed to 252 Cf fission neutrons and various γ-ray sources has been studied; using the charge-integration method for pulse shape discrimination, good separation between neutron and γ-ray events is observed and intrinsic efficiencies of (1.15 ± 0.16) × 10 −2 and (2.28 ± 0.21) × 10 −4 for 252 Cf fission neutrons and 60 Co γ rays are obtained; an upper limit for the sensitivity to 137 Cs γ rays is determined to be < 3.70 × 10 −8 . The neutron/γ discrimination capabilities are improved in circumstances when a neutron capture signal in the lithium glass can be detected in coincidence with a preceding elastic scattering event in the plastic scintillator; with this coincidence requirement, the intrinsic efficiency of the prototype detector for 60 Co γ rays is (2.42 ± 0.61) × 10 −6 while its intrinsic efficiency for unmoderated 252 Cf fission neutrons is (4.31 ± 0.59) × 10 −3 . Through use of subregion-integration ratios in addition to the coincidence requirement, the efficiency for γ rays from 60 Co is reduced to (7.15 ± 4.10) × 10 −7 while the 252 Cf fission neutron efficiency becomes (2.78 ± 0.38) × 10 −3 .

show abstract

Section: The 3 He Supply Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Operating Principles Of Composite Scintillatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication and characterization of a lithium-glass-based composite neutron detector

Rich

Kazkaz

Martínez

et al. 2015

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The idea of composite scintillators was explored by Knoll in the late 1980s [Kno87], but there has been a renewed interest in their development and optimization with numerous groups exploring composites based on lithium gadolinium borate (LGB) crystals for capture gated neutron spectroscopy [Men09], anti-neutrino detection [Nel11], and helium-3 replacement [Kaz11]. Motivated by the well-established 3 He shortage, we have sought to improve upon previous efforts exploring composite scintillators as neutron detectors by selecting an alternative neutronsensitive, embedded scintillator material and optimizing the dimensions of the pieces of this material to enable more reliable gamma-ray rejection capabilities through PSD.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%