The influence of the solvent in fast neutron/gamma discrimination

Abstract

The biphenyl / POPOP couple is known for its scintillation properties, but we describe in this note its use for the discrimination between fast neutrons and gamma rays. More particularly, the influence of the matrix involved in this process is of interest, and for the first time pulse shape discrimination has been observed in non-common solvents such as heptane or ethanol. The discrimination efficiency of our systems is described in terms of factor of merit, angle between neutron and gamma lobes and scintillation performances.

Non-toxic liquid scintillators with high light output based on phenyl-substituted siloxanes

“…For this reason, the scintillation performances of new aromatic solvents have been investigated in several works [8,9,13,14], while the group of Saclay performed an interesting analysis on liquid scintillators for PSD, based also on non-conventional solvents like heptane or ethanol [15].…”

“…Using this solvents, new liquid scintillators have been produced, like EJ-309, showing an efficient n-c discrimination capability [14,15], even if not reaching the performances attained by BC501A and EJ301 [16][17][18]. Moreover, LAB based scintillators exhibit a very good light output [5,12,19,20], with a number of photons per MeeV only slightly lower than the best available liquid scintillators [21].…”

N‐(2‐Ethylhexyl)carbazole: A New Fluorophore Highly Suitable as a Monomolecular Liquid Scintillator

“…One of the main advantages of liquid scintillators is their ability to distinguish between fast neutrons and gamma rays. Again, appropriate substitutes to replace flammable scintillators are very welcome in this field . In this context, a 3 cm 3 quartz cuvette of EHCz was exposed to a 1 MBq 252 Cf neutron/gamma radioactive source, and its response was compared to that of a BC‐501 A sample of the same dimensions.…”

“…Again, appropriate substitutes to replace flammable scintillators are very welcomei nt his field. [4,13,14] In this context,a3cm 3 quartz cuvetteo fE HCz was exposed to a1MBq 252 Cf neutron/gamma radioactives ource, and its response was compared to that of aB C-501 As ample of the same dimensions. The respective results are presented in Figure 6.…”

“…Pseudocumene forms the basis of Pico‐Fluor 40, and LAB and DIN are now found in many liquid scintillators. In the context of n/γ PSD, a moderate efficiency was recently reported, for the first time, in non‐aromatic solvents such as ethanol or heptane . Non‐hydrocarbon solvents have also been extensively studied .…”