Neutron hardness of EJ-276 scintillation material

Abstract

A: This paper presents the results of the fast neutron irradiation (E n > 0.5 MeV) of an EJ-276 scintillator performed in the MARIA research reactor with fluence up to 5.3 × 10 15 particles/cm 2 . In our work, four samples with size φ 25.4 mm × 5 mm were tested. The changes in the light yield, emission and absorption spectrum and neutron/gamma discrimination using PuBe source before and after irradiation are presented. The figure of merit in neutron/gamma discrimination based on the charge integration method for different neutron fluences and different short gate integration times are determined. K: Radiation damage to detector materials (solid state); Scintillators, scintillation and light emission processes (solid, gas and liquid scintillators); Neutron detectors (cold, thermal, fast neutrons); Radiation-hard detectors 1Corresponding author.

Characterization and operational stability of EJ276 plastic scintillator-based detector for neutron spectroscopy

“…A decrease in the light yield, and therefore signal gain (PHS), of EJ276 due to radiation damage from high neutron fluence (10 15 cm −2 s −1 ) has been described in a recent neutron hardness study [31]. This however does not correlate with the continuous nature of the phenomenon described here, as our scintillator has been exposed only a few times to neutrons, once in 2018 at ISIS for calibration purposes mentioned in section 2.5, once at the Frascati neutron generator (FNG) to a 2.5 MeV neutron beam [32] in January 2019 and then again at FNG at the end of 2020, all for relatively brief periods with comparatively low neutron fluence (10 7 -10 9 cm −2 s −1 ) [32,33].…”

MARIA Reactor Irradiation Technology Capabilities towards Advanced Applications

“…The MARIA reactor is equipped with an out-of-core irradiation facility which enables irradiation of large-size (up to 90 mm in diameter) target materials/devices with fast neutron flux density up to 1.7 × 10 12 cm −2 s −1 and well reduced thermal neutron flux, limited down to 3.4 × 10 10 cm −2 s −1 . The facility consists of four assemblies with four irradiation channels each and is used for testing and qualification of various materials, equipment and components [12,13]. Another purpose-built ready to use facility is a channel for fast neutron irradiation.…”