2014/07/31 by T. J. Langford, C. D. Bass, C.D. Bass +7
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Engineering #Materials science #Neutrino Physics Research #Neutron #Nuclear engineering #Nuclear physics #Optics #Physics #Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies #Spectrometer #nucl-ex #physics.ins-det
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.nima.2014.10.060
published as NIM A 771 (2015) 78-87 · 15 pages, 9 figures, published in NIM A
openalex publication_date 2014/11/04 · arxiv created 2014/11/20 · arxiv updated 2014/11/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
A fast neutron spectrometer consisting of segmented plastic scintillator and He-3 proportional counters was constructed for the measurement of neutrons in the energy range 1 MeV to 200 MeV. We discuss its design, principles of operation, and the method of analysis. The detector is capable of observing very low neutron fluxes in the presence of ambient gamma background and does not require scintillator pulseshape discrimination. The spectrometer was characterized for its energy response in fast neutron fields of 2.5 MeV and 14 MeV, and the results are compared with Monte Carlo simulations. Measurements of the fast neutron flux and energy response at 120 m above sea-level (39.130 deg. N, 77.218 deg. W) and at a depth of 560 m in a limestone mine are presented. Finally, the design of a spectrometer with improved sensitivity and energy resolution is discussed.