Low energy light yield of fast plastic scintillators
Abstract
Compact neutron imagers using double-scatter kinematic reconstruction are being designed for localization and characterization of special nuclear material. These neutron imaging systems rely on scintillators with a rapid prompt temporal response as the detection medium. As n-p elastic scattering is the primary mechanism for light generation by fast neutron interactions in organic scintillators, proton light yield data are needed for accurate assessment of scintillator performance. The proton light yield of a series of commercial fast plastic organic scintillators—EJ-200, EJ-204, and EJ-208—was measured via a double time-of-flight technique at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Using a tunable deuteron breakup neutron source, target scintillators housed in a dual photomultiplier tube configuration, and an array of pulse-shape- discriminating observation scintillators, the fast plastic scintillator light yield was measured over a broad and continuous energy range down to proton recoil energies of approximately 50 keV. Furthermore, this work provides key input to event reconstruction algorithms required for utilization of these materials in emerging neutron imaging modalities.
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1493703
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1636284
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0003180; AC02-05CH11231; AC52-07NA27344; NA0003525.; NA0003525
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 954; Journal ID: ISSN 0168-9002
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; Organic scintillator; Plastic scintillator; Proton light yield; Neutron detection; Time-of-flight
Citation Formats
Laplace, T. A., Goldblum, B. L., Brown, J. A., Bleuel, D. L., Brand, C. A., Gabella, G., Jordan, T., Moore, C., Munshi, N., Sweger, Z. W., Sweet, A., and Brubaker, E. Low energy light yield of fast plastic scintillators. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2018.10.122.
Laplace, T. A., Goldblum, B. L., Brown, J. A., Bleuel, D. L., Brand, C. A., Gabella, G., Jordan, T., Moore, C., Munshi, N., Sweger, Z. W., Sweet, A., & Brubaker, E. Low energy light yield of fast plastic scintillators. United States. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2018.10.122.
Laplace, T. A., Goldblum, B. L., Brown, J. A., Bleuel, D. L., Brand, C. A., Gabella, G., Jordan, T., Moore, C., Munshi, N., Sweger, Z. W., Sweet, A., and Brubaker, E. Fri .
"Low energy light yield of fast plastic scintillators". United States. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2018.10.122. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1493703.
@article{osti_1493703,
title = {Low energy light yield of fast plastic scintillators},
author = {Laplace, T. A. and Goldblum, B. L. and Brown, J. A. and Bleuel, D. L. and Brand, C. A. and Gabella, G. and Jordan, T. and Moore, C. and Munshi, N. and Sweger, Z. W. and Sweet, A. and Brubaker, E.},
abstractNote = {Compact neutron imagers using double-scatter kinematic reconstruction are being designed for localization and characterization of special nuclear material. These neutron imaging systems rely on scintillators with a rapid prompt temporal response as the detection medium. As n-p elastic scattering is the primary mechanism for light generation by fast neutron interactions in organic scintillators, proton light yield data are needed for accurate assessment of scintillator performance. The proton light yield of a series of commercial fast plastic organic scintillators—EJ-200, EJ-204, and EJ-208—was measured via a double time-of-flight technique at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Using a tunable deuteron breakup neutron source, target scintillators housed in a dual photomultiplier tube configuration, and an array of pulse-shape- discriminating observation scintillators, the fast plastic scintillator light yield was measured over a broad and continuous energy range down to proton recoil energies of approximately 50 keV. Furthermore, this work provides key input to event reconstruction algorithms required for utilization of these materials in emerging neutron imaging modalities.},
doi = {10.1016/j.nima.2018.10.122},
journal = {Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment},
number = ,
volume = 954,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {10}
}
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Figures / Tables:
Figure 1: Experimental setup for proton light yield measurements. The neutron beam traveled along the $x$-axis (illustrated with a dashed line) through the dual-PMT target scintillator cell. Eleven observation detectors were positioned at forward angles with respect to the incoming neutron beam.
Figures / Tables found in this record: