The efficient and accurate detection of neutrons is essential in many instruments developed for nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards applications. Recent advances in silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) technology and new organic scintillator materials have made it possible to develop new capabilities for neutron detection that have the potential to improve the current systems used in the field. Areas of application include multiplicity counters for fast neutrons emitted by spontaneous and induce fission in the actinides, and imaging systems used for detecting, locating, and characterizing fission sources. Our group has shown the ability of SiPMs to be used as a replacement for traditional photomultiplier tubes to achieve better timing while retaining pulse shape discrimination capabilities (i.e., the ability to distinguish neutroninduced pulses from gamma ray-induced pulses) for stilbene detectors. In this work, we show the application of arrays of organic fast neutron detectors for multiplicity, imaging, and other applications.

Date Published: 9 September 2019
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 11114, Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XXI, 1111409 (9 September 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2530292

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11114:
Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XXI
Ralph B. James; Arnold Burger; Stephen A. Payne, Editor(s)