Measurements of the response functions of a large size NE213 organic liquid scintillator for neutrons up to 800 MeV

The response functions of 25.4 cm (length) x 25.4 cm (diameter) NE213 organic liquid scintillator have been measured for neutrons in the energy range from 20 to 800 MeV at the Heavy-Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) and at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP) of Osaka University. At HIMAC, white (continuous) energy spectrum neutrons were produced by the 400 MeV per nucleon carbon ion bombardment on a thick graphite target, whose energy spectrum has already been measured by Kurosawa et al., [Nucl. Sci. Eng. 132, 30 (1999)] and the response functions of the time-of-flight-gated monoenergetic neutrons in a wide energy range from 20 to 800 MeV were simultaneously measured. At RCNP, the quasi-monoenergetic neutrons were produced via 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction by 250 MeV proton beam bombardment on a thin 7Li target, and the TOF-gated 245 MeV peak neutrons were measured. The absolute peak neutron yield was obtained by the measurement of 478 keV gamma rays from the 7Be nuclei produced in a Li target. The measured results show that the response functions for monoenergetic neutrons < 250 MeV have a recoil proton plateau and an edge around the maximum light output, which increases with increasing incident neutron energy, on the other hand > 250 MeV, the plateau and the edge become unclear because the proton range becomes longer than the detector size and the escaping protons increase. It can be found that the efficiency of the 24.5 cm (diameter) x 25.4 cm (length) NE213 for the 250 MeV neutrons is -10 times larger than the 12.7 cm (length) x 12.7 cm (diameter) NE213, which is widely used as a neutron spectrometer.     

Characterisation of an accelerator-based neutron source for BNCT versus beam energy

Neutron capture in ¹⁰B produces energetic alpha particles that have a high linear energy transfer in tissue. This results in higher cell killing and a higher relative biological effectiveness compared to photons. Using suitably designed boron compounds which preferentially localize in cancerous cells instead of healthy tissues, boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has the potential of providing a higher tumor cure rate within minimal toxicity to normal tissues. This clinical approach requires a thermal neutron source, generally a nuclear reactor, with a fluence rate sufficient to deliver tumorcidal doses within a reasonable treatment time (minutes). Thermal neutrons do not penetrate deeply in tissue, therefore BNCT is limited to lesions which are either superficial or otherwise accessible. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of an accelerator-based thermal neutron source for the BNCT of skin melanomas. The source was designed via MCNP Monte Carlo simulations of the thermalization of a fast neutron beam, generated by 7 MeV deuterons impinging on a thick target of beryllium. The neutron field was characterized at several deuteron energies (3.0–6.5 MeV) in an experimental structure installed at the Van De Graaff accelerator of the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, in Italy. Thermal and epithermal neutron fluences were measured with activation techniques and fast neutron spectra were determined with superheated drop detectors (SDD). These neutron spectrometry and dosimetry studies indicated that the fast neutron dose is unacceptably high in the current design. Modifications to the current design to overcome this problem are presented.     

The neutron component of two high-energy photon reference fields

The 4.4 MeV photon reference field described in ISO 4037 is produced by the (12)C(p,p')(12)C (E(x) = 4.4389 MeV) reaction using a thick elemental carbon target and a proton beam with an energy of 5.7 MeV. The relative abundance of the isotope (13)C in elemental carbon is 1.10%. Therefore, the 4.4 MeV photon field is contaminated by neutrons produced by the (13)C(p,n) (13)N reaction (Q = -3.003 MeV). The ambient dose equivalent H*(10) produced by these neutrons is of the same order of magnitude as the ambient dose equivalent produced by the 4.4 MeV photons. For the calibration of dosemeters, especially those also sensitive to neutrons, the spectral fluence distribution of these neutrons has to be known in detail. On the other hand, a mixed photon/neutron field is very useful for the calibration of tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPC), if this field combines a high-linear energy transfer (LET) component produced by low-energy neutrons and a low-LET component resulting from photons with about the same ambient dose equivalent and energies up to 7 MeV. Such a mixed field was produced at the PTB accelerator facility using a thin CaF(2) + (nat)C target and a 5.7 MeV proton beam.     

AMANDE: a new facility for monoenergetic neutron fields production between 2 keV and 20 MeV

The variation of the response of the instruments with the neutron energy has to be determined in well-characterized monoenergetic neutron fields. The AMANDE facility will deliver such neutron fields between 2 keV and 20 MeV in an experimental hall designed with metallic walls for neutron scattering minimisation. The neutrons will be produced by nuclear interaction of accelerated protons or deuterons on thin targets of selected materials. The measuring devices to be characterised will be accurately placed with a fully automated detector transport system. The energy of the neutron field will be validated by time-of-flight experiments and a large set of standard detectors and fluence monitors will be used to determine the neutron fluence references. The scattered neutron fluence and dose equivalent were calculated by the MCNP Monte Carlo code at several measuring points in order to determine their contribution to the neutron field.     

Development of a quasi-monoenergetic neutron field using the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction in the energy range from 250 to 390 MeV at RCNP

A quasi-monoenergetic neutron field using the (7)Li(p,n)(7)Be reaction has been developed at the ring cyclotron facility at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Osaka University. Neutrons were generated from a 10-mm-thick Li target injected by 250, 350 and 392 MeV protons and neutrons produced at 0 degrees were extracted into the time-of-flight (TOF) room of 100-m length through the concrete collimator of 10 x 12 cm aperture and 150 cm thickness. The neutron energy spectra were measured by a 12.7-cm diam x 12.7-cm long NE213 organic liquid scintillator using the TOF method. The peak neutron fluence was 1.94 x 10(10), 1.07 x 10(10) and 1.50 x 10(10) n sr(-1) per muC of 250, 350 and 392 MeV protons, respectively. The neutron spectra generated from various thick (stopping length) targets of carbon, aluminium, iron and lead, bombarded by 250 and 350 MeV protons, were also measured with the TOF method. Although these measurements were performed to obtain thick target neutron yields, they are also used as a continuous energy neutron field. These neutron fields are very useful for characterising neutron detectors, measuring neutron cross sections, testing irradiation effects for various materials and performing neutron shielding experiments.     

An accelerator-based epithermal neutron beam design for BNCT and dosimetric evaluation using a voxel head phantom

The beam shaping assembly design has been investigated in order to improve the epithermal neutron beam for accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy in intensity and quality, and dosimetric evaluation for the beams has been performed using both mathematical and voxel head phantoms with MCNP runs. The neutron source was assumed to be produced from a conventional 2.5 MeV proton accelerator with a thick (7)Li target. The results indicate that it is possible to enhance epithermal neutron flux remarkably as well as to embody a good spectrum shaping to epithermal neutrons only with the proper combination of moderator and reflector. It is also found that a larger number of thermal neutrons can reach deeply into the brain and, therefore, can reduce considerably the treatment time for brain tumours. Consequently, the epithermal neutron beams designed in this study can treat more effectively deep-seated brain tumours.     

Neutron and γ-radiation field characteristics for 14 MeV neutron generators used with a stilbene-crystal spectrometer

Neutron and γ-ray field characteristics have been examined for two 14 MeV neutron generators by the use of spheres and special cylindrical systems composed of various materials. Measurements have been made on the energy resolution of the spectrometer fitted with a stilbene scintillation crystal in relation to monoenergetic 14 MeV neutrons and the broadening of the monoenergetic neutron spectrum due to interaction with a target material block. __________ Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 5, pp. 53–57, May, 2008.     

Neutron field produced by 25 MeV deuteron on thick beryllium for radiobiological study; energy spectrum

Biological data is necessary for estimation of protection from neutrons, but there is a lack of data on biological effects of neutrons for radiation protection. Radiological study on fast neutrons has been done at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. An intense neutron source has been produced by 25 MeV deuterons on a thick beryllium target. The neutron energy spectrum, which is essential for neutron energy deposition calculation, was measured from thermal to maximum energy range by using an organic liquid scintillator and multi-sphere moderated 3He proportional counters. The spectrum of the gamma rays accompanying the neutron beam was measured simultaneously with the neutron spectrum using the organic liquid scintillator. The transmission by the shield of the spurious neutrons originating from the target was measured to be less than 1% by using the organic liquid scintillator placed behind the collimator. The measured neutron energy spectrum is useful in dose calculations for radiobiology studies.     

Two types of multi-moderator neutron spectrometers: Gamma-ray insensitive type and high-efficiency type

Two types of multi-moderator neutron spectrometers were developed; one is a gamma-ray insensitive type, and the other is a high-efficiency type. An indium activation detector is loaded in the former spectrometer, which can measure the photon-dominant pulsed neutron field such as in the primary photon beam of a high-energy medical electron accelerator. The latter, in which a ³He counter is loaded, is so sensitive that it can measure leakage neutrons from a well shielded facility or even the skyshine neutrons. The response functions of the spectrometers were measured by thermal and mono-energetic neutron standard fields, and were also calculated by the one-dimensional discrete ordinates transport code, ANISN. The measured and calculated responses showed generally good agreement. A benchmark measurement of ²⁵²Cf fission neutrons by using these two spectrometers agreed well with the calculated spectrum. The spectrometers were used in the measurements of neutrons produced by a medical electron accelerator and of skyshine neutrons from an intense 14 MeV neutron source facility.     

NIST Calibration of a Neutron Spectrometer ROSPEC

A neutron spectrometer was acquired for use in the measurement of National Institute of Standards and Technology neutron fields. The spectrometer included options for the measurement of low and high energy neutrons, for a total measurement range from 0.01 eV up to 17 MeV. The spectrometer was evaluated in calibration fields and was used to determine the neutron spectrum of an Americium-Beryllium neutron source. The calibration fields used included bare and moderated ²⁵²Cf, monoenergetic neutron fields of 2.5 MeV and 14 MeV, and a thermal-neutron beam. Using the calibration values determined in this exercise, the spectrometer gives a good approximation of the neutron spectrum, and excellent values for neutron fluence, for all NIST calibration fields. The spectrometer also measured an Americium-Beryllium neutron field in a NIST exposure facility and determined the field quite well. The spectrometer measured scattering effects in neutron spectra which previously could be determined only by calculation or integral measurements.     

Neutron energy spectra produced from thick targets by light-mass heavy ions

The measured neutron energy spectra produced from thick targets by light-mass heavy ion beams were analyzed with the phenomenological hybrid model of equilibrium and pre-equilibrium emissions. The neutron energy spectra are fitted to two (in the energy region of incident projectile energy lower than 100 MeV) and three (in the energy region of incident projectile energy higher than 100 MeV) Maxwellian-type components. The lowest energy component corresponds to the evaporation neutrons from a compound nucleus having a nuclear temperature independent of the neutron emission angle and the higher two components to the pre-equilibrium neutron emission having a nuclear temperature depending on the angle.     

Improved characterisation of the HPA PADC neutron personal dosemeter

The fast neutron energy dependence of response of the HPA PADC neutron personal dosemeter has been measured from 144 keV to 19 MeV using monoenergetic neutron fields. Below 144 keV the relative energy and angle dependence of response have been determined using MCNP-4C2. New data from the SIGMA field at Cadarache, France, have been used to determine the appropriate scaling factor for the calculated response to thermal and intermediate energy neutrons. These newly determined response characteristics of the dosemeter are discussed with respect to its performance in the EVIDOS workplace field irradiations.     

A study of neutron radiation quality with a tissue-equivalent proportional counter for a low-energy accelerator-based in vivo neutron activation facility

The accelerator-based in vivo neutron activation facility at McMaster University has been used successfully for the measurement of several minor and trace elements in human hand bones due to their importance to health. Most of these in vivo measurements have been conducted at a proton beam energy (E(p)) of 2.00 MeV to optimise the activation of the selected element of interest with an effective dose of the same order as that received in chest X rays. However, measurement of other elements at the same facility requires beam energies other than 2.00 MeV. The range of energy of neutrons produced at these proton beam energies comes under the region where tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) are known to experience difficulty in assessing the quality factor and dose equivalent. In this study, the response of TEPCs was investigated to determine the quality factor of neutron fields generated via the (7)Li(p, n)(7)Be reaction as a function of E(p) in the range 1.884-2.56 MeV at the position of hand irradiation in the facility. An interesting trend has been observed in the quality factor based on ICRP 60, Q(ICRP60), such that the maximum value was observed at E(p)=1.884 MeV (E(n)=33±16 keV) and then continued to decline with increasing E(p) until achieving a minimum value at E(p)=2.0 MeV despite a continuous increase in the mean neutron energy with E(p). This observation is contrary to what has been observed with direct fast neutrons where the quality factor was found to increase continuously with an increase in E(p) (i.e. increasing E(n)). The series of measurements conducted with thermal and fast neutron fields demonstrate that the (14)N(n, p)(14)C produced 580 keV protons in the detector play an important role in the response of the counter under 2.0 MeV proton energy (E(n) ≤ 250 keV). In contrast to the lower response of TEPCs to low-energy neutrons, the quality factor is overestimated in the range 1-2 depending on beam energy <2.0 MeV. This study provides an insight to understanding the response of TEPCs in low-energy neutron fields where the neutrons are moderated using a polyethylene moderator.     

Present status of the personal neutron dosemeter based on direct ion storage

In this paper the present status of the Direct Ion Storage Neutron (DIS-N) prototype dosemeter (RADOS) is described. The separation of neutron from photon dose equivalent has been improved by adding tin shieldings. The neutron energy response has been changed by additional plastic covers containing 40% B4C in order to reduce the over-response to thermal neutrons. The responses of the dosemeters were determined for standard photon and neutron fields (monoenergetic neutrons, neutron sources and simulated workplace fields). Irradiations in real workplaces were also performed. The dependence of the neutron response on the angle of incidence was measured for different neutron sources.     

Neutron production in tissue-like media and shielding materials irradiated with high-energy ion beams

Secondary neutrons produced in high-energy therapeutic ion beams require special attention since they contribute to the dose delivered to patient, both to tumour and to the healthy tissues. Moreover, monitoring of neutron production in the beam line elements and the patient is of importance for radiation protection aspects around ion therapy facility. Monte Carlo simulations of light ion transport in the tissue-like media (water, A-150, PMMA) and materials of interest for shielding devices (graphite, steel and Pb) were performed using the SHIELD-HIT and MCNPX codes. The capability of the codes to reproduce the experimental data on neutron spectra differential both in energy and angle is demonstrated for neutron yield from the thick targets. Both codes show satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. The absorbed dose due to neutrons produced in the water and A-150 phantoms is calculated for proton (200 MeV) and carbon (390 MeV/u) beams. Secondary neutron dose contribution is approximately 0.6% of the total dose delivered to the phantoms by proton beam and at the similar level for both materials. For carbon beam the neutron dose contribution is approximately 1.0 and 1.2% for the water and A-150 phantoms, respectively. The neutron ambient dose equivalent, H(10), was determined for neutrons leaving different shielding materials after irradiation with ions of various energies.     

Neutron spectrometry with a monolithic silicon telescope

A neutron spectrometer was set-up by coupling a polyethylene converter with a monolithic silicon telescope, consisting of a DeltaE and an E stage-detector (about 2 and 500 microm thick, respectively). The detection system was irradiated with monoenergetic neutrons at INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (Legnaro, Italy). The maximum detectable energy, imposed by the thickness of the E stage, is about 8 MeV for the present detector. The scatter plots of the energy deposited in the two stages were acquired using two independent electronic chains. The distributions of the recoil-protons are well-discriminated from those due to secondary electrons for energies above 0.350 MeV. The experimental spectra of the recoil-protons were compared with the results of Monte Carlo simulations using the FLUKA code. An analytical model that takes into account the geometrical structure of the silicon telescope was developed, validated and implemented in an unfolding code. The capability of reproducing continuous neutron spectra was investigated by irradiating the detector with neutrons from a thick beryllium target bombarded with protons. The measured spectra were compared with data taken from the literature. Satisfactory agreement was found.     

A telescope-design directional neutron spectrometer

A directional spectrometer that uses a superheated emulsion of dichlorotetrafluoroethane at the centre of a 30 cm diameter moderating-sphere of nylon-6. The system has a telescope-design wherein the detector views a narrow solid angle of about 1/6 steradians. The hydrogenous sphere effectively attenuates laterally incident neutrons, thus providing a strong angular dependence of the response. The central detector is sequentially operated at seven temperatures between 25 and 55 degrees C in order to generate a matrix of nested response functions suitable for few-channel spectrometry. The response matrix of the system has been determined by calibrations with monoenergetic neutrons and by Monte Carlo neutron transport calculations. The double-differential unfolding method developed for this system applies the principle of maximum entropy and allows for the rigorous use of all a priori information. The spectrometer is intended for use in the mixed neutron/photon fields encountered in the nuclear power industry, being suitable for spatially distributed radiation sources with maximum neutron energies up to 10 MeV.     

The 9Be(d,n)10B-reaction as intense neutron source with continuous energy spectrum

Neutron energy spectra produced by deuterons of 3 to 8 MeV in a thick ⁹Be-target were measured at various scattering angles. Significant angle dependences were observed. Angular distributions of the most energetic neutrons produced in thin ⁹Be targets can be described quantitatively in DWBA, which is an indication for a direct reaction mechanism. As a consequence all but 0°-neutrons are polarized to a certain extent. Also presented is the neutron energy spectrum of ⁷Li(d,n)⁸Be at 0° produced in a thick ⁷Li-target. The potential of these intense 0°-neutron beams with continuous energy distributions is demonstrated by a measurement of the neutron absorption cross section of natural carbon.     

Development of multi-moderator neutron spectrometer using a pair of Li and Li glass scintillators

A multi-moderator spectrometer using a pair of ⁶Li and ⁷Li glass scintillators has been developed. This new type of neutron spectrometer can measure the neutron spectrum in a mixed field of neutrons, charged particles and gamma-rays. The particle identification capability was investigated in neutron–gamma-ray and neutron–proton mixed fields and the neutron response functions of the spectrometer were obtained by calculations and experiments up to 200 MeV. This spectrometer has been applied to measure neutron spectrum in a neutron–proton mixed field, produced by bombarding a Be target by 70 MeV protons from the cyclotron.     

Arrangement of high-energy neutron irradiation field and shielding experiment using 4 m concrete at KENS

An irradiation field of high-energy neutrons produced in the forward direction from a thick tungsten target bombarded by 500 MeV protons was arranged at the KENS spallation neutron source facility. In this facility, shielding experiment was performed with an ordinary concrete shield of 4 m thickness assembled in the irradiation room, 2.5 m downstream from the target centre. Activation detectors of bismuth, aluminium, indium and gold were inserted into eight slots inside the shield and attenuations of neutron reaction rates were obtained by measurements of gamma-rays from the activation detectors. A MARS14 Monte Carlo simulation was also performed down to thermal energy, and comparisons between the calculations and measurements show agreements within a factor of 3. This neutron field is useful for studies of shielding, activation and radiation damage of materials for high-energy neutrons, and experimental data are useful to check the accuracies of the transmission and activation calculation codes.