Characterisation of CVD diamond detectors used for fast neutron flux monitoring

Natural diamond detectors (NDD) have been successfully used for fast neutron spectrometry on various fusion installations in plasma diagnostics. These detectors can work at high temperature, are radiation hard and exhibit a high energy resolution. However, the use of NDD is limited by the availability of IIa type diamonds exhibiting high electronic properties. With the recent advance in the growth of high quality chemically vapour deposited (CVD) diamond at LETI, CVD diamond appears to be a very promising material for plasma diagnostics. We present here for the first time results of the use of CVD diamond detectors for fast neutron flux monitoring on a neutron generator. The characteristics of CVD diamond detectors are compared with that of high quality NDD made by TRINITI. Pulse height spectra have been measured with CVD detectors and NDD under both 5.5 MeV alpha particles and 14.1 MeV neutrons. The quality of CVD diamond enables the recording of structured spectra allowing the distinction between the different neutron reactions on carbon. The efficiency of CVD diamond monitors and their actual limitations are analysed and discussed.     

Characterisation of the TAPIRO BNCT epithermal facility

A collimated epithermal beam for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) research has been designed and built at the TAPIRO fast research reactor. A complete experimental characterisation of the radiation field in the irradiation chamber has been performed, to verify agreement with IAEA requirements. Slow neutron fluxes have been measured by means of an activation technique and with thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs). The fast neutron dose has been determined with gel dosemeters, while the fast neutron spectrum has been acquired by means of a neutron spectrometer based on superheated drop detectors. The gamma-dose has been measured with gel dosemeters and TLDs. For an independent verification of the experimental results, fluxes, doses and neutron spectra have been calculated with Monte Carlo simulations using the codes MCNP4B and MCNPX_2.1.5 with the direct statistical approach (DSA). The results obtained confirm that the epithermal beams achievable at TAPIRO are of suitable quality for BNCT purposes.     

Preliminary results on bubble detector as personal neutron dosemeter

The bubble detector is demonstrated as one of the best suitable neutron detectors for neutron dose rate measurements in the presence of high-intense gamma fields. Immobilisation of a volatile liquid in a superheated state and achieving uniform distribution of tiny superheated droplets were a practical challenge. A compact and reusable bubble detector with high neutron sensitivity has been developed at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research by immobilising the superheated droplets in a suitable polymer matrix. Two types of bubble detectors have been successfully developed, one by incorporating isobutane for measuring fast neutron and another by incorporating Freon-12 for both fast and thermal neutron. The performance of the detector has been tested using 5 Ci Am-Be neutron source and the results are described.     

Calculation and experimental determination of the fast neutron sensitivity of OSL detectors with hydrogen containing radiators

Detectors based on optically stimulated luminescence are useful for fast neutron dosimetry. For this one needs the neutron sensitivity of these detectors. We describe a procedure for the calculation of the neutron sensitivity. For CaF₂:Mn embedded in polyethylene the calculated values are compared with experimentally determined neutron sensitivities. There is good agreement.     

Alanine and TLD coupled detectors for fast neutron dose measurements in neutron capture therapy (NCT)

A method was investigated to measure gamma and fast neutron doses in phantoms exposed to an epithermal neutron beam designed for neutron capture therapy (NCT). The gamma dose component was measured by TLD-300 [CaF2:Tm] and the fast neutron dose, mainly due to elastic scattering with hydrogen nuclei, was measured by alanine dosemeters [CH3CH(NH2)COOH]. The gamma and fast neutron doses deposited in alanine dosemeters are very near to those released in tissue, because of the alanine tissue equivalence. Couples of TLD-300 and alanine dosemeters were irradiated in phantoms positioned in the epithermal column of the Tapiro reactor (ENEA-Casaccia RC). The dosemeter response depends on the linear energy transfer (LET) of radiation, hence the precision and reliability of the fast neutron dose values obtained with the proposed method have been investigated. Results showed that the combination of alanine and TLD detectors is a promising method to separate gamma dose and fast neutron dose in NCT.     

A novel approach to the measurement of the neutron multiplicity associated with reverse kinematics heavy ion reactions

A new fast neutron high multiplicity detector is proposed based on the measurement of the total light yielded by the neutrons in a plastic scintillator. Its performance is simulated by Monte Carlo methods and compared to existing neutron multiplicity detectors. A cost effective design for reverse kinematics heavy ion reactions is presented and connected problems discussed.     

ΔE−E Telescope systems for detecting charged particles produced with a “white” neutron beam

Highly stable ΔE−E telescope systems consisting of plastic scintillation detectors are operated as flux monitors in a “white” neutron beam between 15 and 50 MeV. Multiple telescope systems consisting of large area silicon ΔE detectors and NaI E detectors are set up in a scattering chamber to investigate charged particle reactions induced by fast neutrons up to 50 MeV.     

The use of enriched 6Li and 7Li Lif:Mg,Cu,P glass-rod thermoluminescent dosemeters for linear accelerator out-of-field radiation dose measurements

(6)LiF:Mg,Cu,P and (7)LiF:Mg,Cu,P glass-rod thermoluminescent dosemeters (TLDs) were used for measurements of out-of-field photon and neutron doses produced by Varian iX linear accelerator. Both TLDs were calibrated using 18-MV X-ray beam to investigate their dose-response sensitivity and linearity. CR-39 etch-track detectors (Luxel+, Landauer) were employed to provide neutron dose data to calibrate (6)LiF:Mg,Cu,P TLDs at various distances from the isocentre. With cadmium filters employed, slow neutrons (<0.5 eV) were distinguished from fast neutrons. The average in-air photon dose equivalents per monitor unit (MU) ranged from 1.5±0.4 to 215.5±94.6 μSv at 100 and 15 cm from the isocentre, respectively. Based on the cross-calibration factors obtained with CR-39 etch-track detectors, the average in-air fast neutron dose equivalents per MU range from 10.6±3.8 to 59.1±49.9 μSv at 100 and 15 cm from the isocentre, respectively. Contribution of thermal neutrons to total neutron dose equivalent was small: 3.1±7.2 μSv per MU at 15 cm from the isocentre.     

Performance of silicon pad detectors after mixed irradiations with neutrons and fast charged hadrons

A large set of silicon pad detectors produced on MCz and FZ wafer of p- and n-type was irradiated in two steps, first by fast charged hadrons followed by reactor neutrons. In this way the irradiations resemble the real irradiation fields at LHC. After irradiations controlled annealing started in steps during which the evolution of full depletion voltage, leakage current and charge collection efficiency was monitored. The damage introduced by different irradiation particles was found to be additive. The most striking consequence of that is a decrease of the full depletion voltage for n-type MCz detectors after additional neutron irradiation. This confirms that effective donors introduced by charged hadron irradiation are compensated by acceptors from neutron irradiation.     

Progress report of the CR-39 neutron personal monitoring service at PSI

At the Paul Scherrer Institute a personal neutron dosimetry system based on chemically etched CR-39 detectors and automatic track counting is in routine use since the beginning of 1998. The quality of the CR-39 detectors has always been a crucial aspect to maintain a trustable personal neutron dosimetry system. This paper summarises the 7 y experience in routine use. The effect of detector material defects which could lead to false positive neutron doses is described. The potentiality of improving the background statistics by extending the pre-etch time is investigated and involves as a drawback a quite lower sensitivity to thermal neutrons. Furthermore, the impact of small changes in the production process of the detectors on the response to fast and thermal neutrons is shown. For the personal dosimetry at CERN, a new dosimetry concept was launched by combining a CR-39 neutron dosemeter with a Direct-Ion Storage (DIS) dosemeter for photon and beta radiation. The usage period of the CR-39 dosemeters is prolonged now from 3 months up to 12 months. In this context, the long-term behaviour over 1 y of the background track density and the response to Am-Be are described.     

A directional dose equivalent monitor for neutrons

A directional dose equivalent monitor is introduced which consists of a 30 cm diameter spherical phantom hosting a superheated drop detector embedded at a depth of 10 mm. The device relies on the similarity between the fluence response of neutron superheated drop detectors based on halocarbon-12 and the quality-factor-weighted kerma factor. This implies that these detectors can be used for in-phantom dosimetry and provide a direct reading of dose equivalent at depth. The directional dose equivalent monitor was characterised experimentally with fast neutron calibrations and numerically with Monte Carlo simulations. The fluence response was determined at angles of 0, 45, 90, 135 and 180 degrees for thermal to 20 MeV neutrons. The response of the device is closely proportional to the fluence-to-directional dose equivalent conversion coefficient, h'phi (10; alpha, E). Therefore, our monitor is suitable for a direct measurement of neutron directional dose equivalent, H'(10), regardless of angle and energy distribution of the neutron fluence.     

Proton-recoil detectors for time-of-flight measurements of neutrons with kinetic energies from some tens of keV to a few MeV

For experiments at the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE, where neutrons in the kinetic energy region from some tens of keV to a few MeV will be produced by bremsstrahlung, neutron-time-of-flight detectors have been developed. These detectors are made from the plastic scintillator material EJ-200. Efficiency calibration showed more than 10% efficiency for kinetic energies down to 30 keV. The calibration was done at the “accelerator facility for fast neutron research” at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig, using pulsed quasi-monoenergetic neutron fields with a well-determined fluence. The low detection threshold was obtained by coincident readout of two Hamamatsu R2059-01 photomultiplier tubes per scintillator and by triggering just below the single-photo-electron peak of these photomultiplier tubes, which additionally gives a well-reproduceable detection threshold.     

Pressure vessel calculations for VVER-440 reactors

For the determination of the fast neutron load of the reactor pressure vessel a mixed calculational procedure was developed. The procedure was applied to the Unit II of Paks NPP, Hungary. The neutron source on the outer surfaces of the reactor was determined by a core design code, and the neutron transport calculations outside the core were performed by the Monte Carlo code MCNP. The reaction rate in the activation detectors at surveillance positions and at the cavity were calculated and compared with measurements. In most cases, fairly good agreement was found.     

Influence of different detector parameters on the neutron sensitivity of OSL detectors

On the basis of a method for the calculation of the neutron sensitivity of OSL detectors with a high content of hydrogen a systematic investigation of the influence of different detector parameters on the neutron sensitivity was carried out. The detector thickness, the thickness of the contact radiator, the luminophor contents and the grain size of the used luminophor influence the neutron sensitivity, first of all in the energy range of fast neutrons. Especially the use of small grain luminophor considerably increases the sensitivity whereas the other parameters have a small influence on the neutron sensitivity.     

Novel Al2O3:C,Mg fluorescent nuclear track detectors for passive neutron dosimetry

The latest advances in the development of a fluorescent nuclear track detector (FNTD) for neutron and heavy charged particle dosimetry are described and compared with CR-39 plastic nuclear etched track detectors (PNTDs). The technique combines a new luminescent aluminium oxide single crystal detector (Al(2)O(3):C,Mg) with an imaging technique based on laser scanning and confocal fluorescence detection. Detection efficiency was obtained after irradiations with monoenergetic neutron and proton beams. Dose dependences were measured for different configurations of the detectors exposed in fast- and thermal-neutron fields. A specially developed image processing technique allows for fast fluorescent track identification and counting. The readout method is non-destructive, and detectors can be reused after thermal annealing.     

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.     

包装物对爆炸物中子检测的影响

文章概述了目前主要的爆炸物中子检测方法,介绍了用热中子俘获γ射线法（TNA法）检测爆炸物的原理,用模拟实验装置对模拟爆炸物进行了检测,得到了被测物的俘获γ射线能谱。实验装置采用d-D中子管产生2.5MeV的快中子,再经慢化之后得到热中子,并采用多个NaI探测器提高检测效率。着重对TNA法中不同外包装物材料以及多层复合外包装物材料对探测结果的影响进行了探索研究和结果分析,发现铜外壳对γ射线的屏蔽较大程度地降低了检出率,而例如聚四氟乙烯等塑料外壳也可能造成类似的影响。     

Monte Carlo simulation of neutron backscattering from concrete walls in the dense plasma focus laboratory of Bologna University

Between 2001 and 2003 a 3.2 kJ dense plasma focus (DPF) device has been built at the Montecuccolino Laboratory of the Department of Energy, Nuclear and Environmental Control Engineering (DIENCA) of the University of Bologna. A DPF is a pulsed device in which deuterium nuclear fusion reactions can be obtained through the pinching effects of electromagnetic fields upon a dense plasma. The empirical scale law that governs the total D-D neutron yield from a single pulse of a DPF predicts for this machine a figure of approximately 10(7) fast neutrons per shot. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the role of backscattering of neutrons from the concrete walls surrounding the Montecuccolino DPF in total neutron yield measurements. The evaluation is performed by MCNP-5 simulations that are aimed at estimating the neutron spectra at a few points of interest in the laboratory, where neutron detectors will be placed during the experimental campaigns. Spectral information from the simulations is essential because the response of detectors is influenced by neutron energy. Comparisons are made with the simple r(-2) law, which holds for a DPF in infinite vacuum. The results from the simulations will ultimately be used both in the design and optimisation of the neutron detectors and in their final calibration and placement inside the laboratory.     

Some recent measurements onboard spacecraft with passive detector

Several passive detectors were used to estimate dosimetry and microdosimetry characteristics of radiation field onboard spacecraft, namely: thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs), mainly to appreciate the contribution of radiation with low-linear energy transfer (LET); Si diode, to try to establish the contribution of fast neutrons; an LET spectrometer based on the chemically etched polyallyldiglycolcarbonate etched track detectors (PADC-TEDs). Detectors have been exposed onboard MIR and International Space Station (ISS) since 1997, they were also used during the MESSAGE 2 biological experiment, October 2003. The results are presented, analysed and discussed. Particular attention is devoted to the possibility of estimating neutron contribution based on data obtained with PADC-TED spectrometer of LET.     

Large area microchannel plate detector with amorphous silicon pixel array readout for fast neutron radiography

Fast neutron radiography is a non-destructive testing technique with a variety of industrial applications and the capability for element sensitive imaging for contraband and explosives detection.

Commonly used position sensitive detectors for fast neutron radiography are based on charge coupled devices (CCDs) and scintillators. The limited format of CCDs implies that complex optical systems involving lenses and mirrors are required to indirectly image areas that are larger than 8.6 cm×11.05 cm. The use of optics reduces the light collection efficiency of the imaging system, while the efficiency of hydrogen rich scintillators exploiting the proton recoil reaction is limited by the hydrogen concentration and the magnitude of the neutron scattering cross-section.

The light conversion step inevitably involves a tradeoff in scintillator thickness between light yield and spatial resolution.

The development of large area amorphous silicon (a-Si) panel flat panel photodiode arrays and direct neutron-to-charge converters based on microchannel plates, provide an attractive new form of high resolution, large area, fast neutron imaging detector for the non-destructive imaging of large structures. This paper describes some recent results of both Monte Carlo simulations and measurements for such a detector.