Detection of alpha and 7Li particles from 10B(n, α)7Li reactions using a combination of CR-39 nuclear track detector and potassium hydroxide-ethanol-water solution in accelerator-based neutron fields

Abstract

We investigated the optimum etching condition for potassium hydroxide-ethanol–water solution (PEW) to detect only alpha and 7Li particles from 10B(n, α)7Li reactions registered in a CR-39 plastic nuclear track detector. The background recoil protons, which are induced by fast neutrons with energies of <2 MeV produced by 9Be(p, n)9B reactions in accelerator-based neutron sources, were discriminated by the desensitization effect with PEW. We found that an ethanol concentration of ≥15 wt% in a PEW solution discriminated recoil proton tracks with energies of <2 MeV. The optimized conditions will be applicable for evaluating dose distribution in tissue in accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy.