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AN IMPROVED Li$sup 6$-LOADED GLASS SCINTILLATOR FOR NEUTRON DETECTION

Journal Article · · Nuclear Instr. & Methods
A cerium activated, Li/sup 6/-loaded, glass scintillator of improved scintillation efficiency and Li/sup 6/ content was develope and used for detecting neutrons with energies from thermal to 80 kev by time-of-flight techniques. The following properties of a glass scintillator ( approximately 1.5" thick) with 0.045 x 10 Li/sup 6/ atoms/cm/sup 2/ were determined: an efficiency of 20% for detecting neutrons of 1-kev energy, a negligible background due to gamma -rays of energy < 1.3-Mev, a resolution of 25% for the Li/sup 6/(n, alpha )T peak, a pulse wdth rise time approximately 4 nanosec and a decay approximately 100 nanosec into an impedance of 100 ohms, and a time resolution <2 nanosec when using a fast-slow'' coincidence system and annihilation quanta from Na/sup 22/. These properties were exploited in measuring the neutron energy spectrum from the reaction Li/sup 7/(p,n)Be/sup 7/ using the ORNL pulsed Van de Graaff and the associated nanosec time-offlight spectrometer. For a proton energy 15 kev above the reaction threshold the neutron energy spectrum extended from 5 to 80 kev. Neutron transmission measurements up to several kev also demonstrate the use of the scintillator with a fast chopper neutron spectrometer. Lithium and boron loaded glass scintillators were compared and it is concluded that lithium glass is, in general, the more suitable for neutron detection. (auth)
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
NSA Number:
NSA-16-005541
OSTI ID:
4805295
Journal Information:
Nuclear Instr. & Methods, Journal Name: Nuclear Instr. & Methods Vol. Vol: 13
Country of Publication:
Country unknown/Code not available
Language:
English