Accueil > Recherche > Publications / brevets > Publications équipe SMALL > Publications Spectro Fluo Nano

Recherche - Valorisation

A fluorocarbon plastic scintillator for neutron detection: Proof of concept

Hamel, M; Sibczynski, P; Blanc, P; Iwanowska, J; Carrel, F; Syntfeld-Kazuch, A; Normand, S NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS & METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH SECTION A-ACCELERATORS SPECTROMETERS DETECTORS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT 2014, 768, 26-31.

The fast neutron nuclear reactions, such as F-19(n, alpha)N-16 and F-19(n, p)O-19, can be used to detect highly energetic neutrons due to their energy thresholds above which these activation reactions can occur. This was recently shown (Gozani et al., 2011 [2]) as a means to detect concealed nuclear materials via the detection of the high energy (approximate to 3 MeV) prompt neutrons emitted during the photofission process. Fluorine-loaded scintillation detectors, such as inorganic BaF2 and CaF2, and non-hydrogenous fluorocarbon (PC) liquid scintillators, such as Saint-Gobain BC-509 and Eljen Technology EJ-313, are possible candidates. The latter was selected and implemented in the above mentioned reference. In our paper, we propose a new pentafluorostyrene-based plastic scintillator (F-plastic) which can be a good alternative to the abovementional scintillators. The fluorine content of F-plastic is equal to 3.73 x 10(22) atoms/cm(3), and the F/H ratio is 1.66. The fluorescence and radioluminescence spectra of the F-plastic display an emission maximum centered approximately at 420 nm. The light output measured for gamma rays is 3100 +/- 300 photons/MeV, which is approximately 30% of the light output of the standard EJ-200 plastic scintillator and is similar to EJ-313. The response of the F-plastic to neutrons and gamma rays is presented and compared to the EJ-200 scintillator. Additionally, the n/gamma pulse shape discrimination (PSD) was measured and showed improvement of the discrimination at neutron energies as high as 3 MeV.

Type :

Publication

Dates :

Paru le 21 décembre 2014

Informations complémentaires :

DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2014.09.029