Design and performance of a NaIL detector for neutron/gamma discrimination

Ma, Tengfei; Wang, Z.; Chen, Q.; Li, F.; Qi, Junyu; Qi, Pengyuan; Zhao, Q.; Zhang, Z.; Zhu, Biao; Zhao, Chao; Zhou, Ruijie; Yang, C.

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/16/08/p08067

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Studies have shown that the light yield of a NaIL scintillator changes under different temperatures [9,16], and the SiPM gain also changes with temperature [20,21]. Therefore, the output signal amplitude of the neutron-gamma detector designed in this study will change with temperature, which will cause a drift in the measured energy spectrum and measurement errors.…”

Section: Test Of Temperature Feedback Bias Correctionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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A portable neutron gamma discrimination detector based on NaIL and SiPM

Zhang¹,

Wang²,

S.³

et al. 2022

J. Inst.

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neutron-gamma detection technology is widely used in nuclear physics, high-energy physics, radiation medicine, and other fields. A NaIL scintillator coupled with a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) can form a neutron-gamma detector with excellent discrimination, small size, and low cost. However, the performances of a NaIL scintillator and SiPM are affected by temperature, which leads to a shift in energy spectrum and deterioration in neutron-gamma discrimination. Most of the current studies have used digitizers to store data and analyze detector energy spectrum and waveform characteristics offline to eliminate temperature dependence. In this study, a small neutron-gamma detector was constructed using NaIL scintillators, SiPM, and circuits developed in the laboratory. Online calibration of the ARM processor eliminates the temperature dependence of the detector's energy spectrum and neutron-gamma discrimination. Automatic energy spectrum stabilization and good neutron-gamma discrimination were achieved in a wide temperature range. The test results show that the peak shift of the 137Cs 662 keV full-energy peak of the detector is reduced from 5.3% to 0.4% at 0–50°C. After the online correction of the temperature feedback PSD parameters, the figure of merit at 45°C is 40% higher than that before the correction, and the detector's figure of merit at 0–50°C is maintained above 3.4.

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Section: Test Of Temperature Feedback Bias Correctionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…There have been some studies on NaIL scintillator-based neutron-gamma detectors. Most of the current research is based on the photomultiplier tube-coupled NaIL scintillator [8][9][10]. However, photomultiplier tubes are bulky, have high operating voltages, and are susceptible to interference.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A portable neutron gamma discrimination detector based on NaIL and SiPM

Zhang¹,

Wang²,

S.³

et al. 2022

J. Inst.

Self Cite

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“…where 𝜏 𝑓 is the fast component decay time constant, 𝜏 𝑠 is the slow component decay time constant, and 𝐴 and 𝐵 are the intensity coefficients of the two components, respectively. Studies have shown that the fast component usually dominates the pulses of NaIL scintillators [22,23], and the decay time constant of event pulses can be used to optimize frequency domain discrimination. According to Saleh's report [14], the optimal discriminating frequency can be obtained from eq.…”

Section: Length Of Pulse Transformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of pulse shape discrimination based on frequency domain for SiPM-based NaIL scintillator detector

Li,

Fan,

Zhu

et al. 2024

J. Inst.

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Frequency gradient analysis (FGA) neutron-gamma pulse shape discrimination (PSD) based on Fourier transform has proved to be an effective method for discrimination between two types of pulses by simply constructing a discrimination parameter by subtracting the amplitude of the 1st frequency component from the 0th frequency component. However, the discrimination parameter constructed by the above method could not meet the requirements at some lower sample rates, and the dark noise caused using optoelectronic devices such as miniaturized SiPMs array further erodes the difference between the two frequency components. This paper proposes a new discrimination parameter construction method based on FGA for neutron-gamma discrimination, which is referred as mFGA (modified FGA). This discrimination parameter uses the 0th frequency component and other frequency components to enhance the discrimination performance. A neutron detector module consisting of a 25.4 mm× 25.4 mm× 50.8 mm NaI:Tl,6Li (NaIL) scintillator and an array of 8 × 8 SiPMs was established to verify the method of mFGA. The module measured a 252Cf neutron source under three shielding conditions: no shield, 5 cm high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and 10 cm lead brick. The proposed mFGA method was used to calculate the figure of merit (FoM) under each shielding condition and compared to the traditional frequency gradient method (FGA) and the traditional charge comparison method (CCM). The results show that the discrimination performance with the mFGA method is significantly improved. Taking the HDPE shielding group as an example, the performances of the three methods are FoM-FGA =1.14, FoM-mFGA =2.75, FoM-CCM =0.92. At the same time, with the increase of energy, due to the neutron gamma pulse becoming similar, and the discrimination performance of FGA and CCM decrease significantly. The discrimination performance of the mFGA method is relatively stable in all energy regions. Therefore, the proposed method is superior to the traditional FGA of the 0th frequency minus the 1st frequency and has a good application prospect for neutron-gamma discrimination with detectors of poor signal quality.

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A Compact Dual Gamma Neutron Detector Based on NaI(Tl+Li) Scintillator Readout with SiPM

Shen

Huang

et al. 2022

Crystals

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Sodium iodide crystal co-doped with thallium and lithium is a promising scintillator with wide application prospects for dual gamma neutron detection. In this study, a compact gamma/neutron detector was developed based on 2-inch NaI(Tl+Li) (NaIL) scintillator readout with 8 × 8 silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array. Dedicated transimpedance amplifier circuit was developed for the SiPM array. The energy resolution and response linearity with the SiPM array were evaluated and compared to those obtained with photomultiplier tube (PMT) readout. The energy resolution for 661.6 keV gamma rays was measured as 7.0% and 6.5% with SiPM array and PMT, respectively. The linear response of the SiPM array is almost the same as that of the PMT in the energy range up to ~4 MeV. Neutron and gamma pulse shape discrimination was evaluated by acquiring the pulse waveforms with a digitizer (12 bit/250 MSPS) and off-line analysis. The best figure of merit (FOM) was measured as 3.75 for the SiPM array with optimized parameters, close to the performance measured with PMT (FOM = 4.07). The experimental results show that the NaIL scintillator readout with SiPM array exhibit energy resolution equivalent to NaI(Tl) gamma detectors and excellent neutron/gamma discrimination, making it especially suitable for compact devices requiring gamma and neutron dual detection capabilities.

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Design and performance of a NaIL detector for neutron/gamma discrimination

Cited by 3 publications

References 18 publications

A portable neutron gamma discrimination detector based on NaIL and SiPM

A portable neutron gamma discrimination detector based on NaIL and SiPM

Optimization of pulse shape discrimination based on frequency domain for SiPM-based NaIL scintillator detector

A Compact Dual Gamma Neutron Detector Based on NaI(Tl+Li) Scintillator Readout with SiPM

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