Organic Liquid Scintillation Detectors Research Articles

Characterisation of neutron fields at the n-lab, a fast neutron facility at the University of Cape Town

The n-lab is a fast neutron facility based in the Department of Physics, University of Cape Town, offering collimated neutron beams produced by an MP 320 deuterium–tritium sealed tube neutron generator, and a 220 GBq americium–beryllium radioisotopic source. Characterisations of the spatial and energy distributions of the fast neutron beams were performed using an EJ-301 organic liquid scintillator detector and digital data acquisition system. Neutron energy spectra were obtained through unfolding analyses with MAXED, and a Monte Carlo approach to the propagation of uncertainties was implemented. Measurements of fluence and neutron emission rates were determined through the neutron activation of copper foils and subsequently used to validate the scaling of the unfolded neutron energy spectra.

Pulse shape discrimination using a convolutional neural network for organic liquid scintillator signals

A convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture is developed to improve the pulse shape discrimination (PSD) power of the gadolinium-loaded organic liquid scintillation detector to reduce the fast neutron background in the inverse beta decay candidate events of the NEOS-II data. A power spectrum of an event is constructed using a fast Fourier transform of the time domain raw waveforms and put into CNN. An early data set is evaluated by CNN after it is trained using low energy β and α events. The signal-to-background ratio averaged over 1–10 MeV visible energy range is enhanced by more than 20% in the result of the CNN method compared to that of an existing conventional PSD method, and the improvement is even higher in the low energy region.

Fabrication of a Liquid Scintillator based on 7-Diethylamino-4-Methylcoumarin for Radiation Detection.

Organic liquid scintillation detectors are widely used to measure the presence of radiation. With these devices, there are advantages in that they are easy to manufacture, large in size, and have a short fluorescence decay time. However, they are not suitable for gamma spectroscopy because they are composed of a low-atomic-number material. In this regard, alternative materials for the secondary solute used in basic organic liquid scintillators have been investigated, and the applicability of alternative materials, the detection characteristics, and neutron/gamma identification tests were all assessed. 7-Diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin (DMC), selected as an alternative material, is a benzopyrone derivative in the form of colorless crystals with high fluorescence, a high quantum yield in the visible region, and excellent light stability. In addition, it has a large Stokes shift, and solubility in a solvent is good. Through an analysis in this study, it was found that the absorption wavelength range of DMC coincides with the emission wavelength range of PPO, which is the primary solute used with DMC. Finally, it was confirmed that the optimal concentration of DMC was 0.08 wt%. As a result of performing gamma and neutron measurement tests using a DMC-based liquid scintillator, it was found to perform well (FOM = 1.42) compared to a commercial liquid scintillator, BC-501A.

Energy measurement of 241Am-[formula omitted]Be neutrons by tagged neutron time-of-flight

Neutron energy spectrum of a 241Am-9Be source was measured in the energy range of 0.3 to ∼ 6.5 MeV using γ-ray tagged neutron time-of-flight method. BC501A type organic liquid scintillator detector was used at a flight path of 175 cm to detect neutrons with good energy resolution. The de-excitation γ-ray emitted in coincidence with neutrons was detected using a fast BaF2 detector. The measured data has been compared with the ISO 8529-2 standard neutron reference spectrum and found good agreement in the overlapping energy region. Present measurement applied efficiency correction to the data and extended up to 0.3 MeV in the lower energy region compared to earlier reported measurement using similar technique.

Potential for a precision measurement of solar pp neutrinos in the Serappis experiment

The Serappis (SEarch for RAre PP-neutrinos In Scintillator) project aims at a precision measurement of the flux of solar pp neutrinos on the few-percent level. Such a measurement will be a relevant contribution to the study of solar neutrino oscillation parameters and a sensitive test of the equilibrium between solar energy output in neutrinos and electromagnetic radiation (solar luminosity constraint). The concept of Serappis relies on a small organic liquid scintillator detector (sim 20 m^3) with excellent energy resolution (sim 2.5% at 1 MeV), low internal background and sufficient shielding from surrounding radioactivity. This can be achieved by a minor upgrade of the OSIRIS facility at the site of the JUNO neutrino experiment in southern China. To go substantially beyond current accuracy levels for the pp flux, an organic scintillator with ultra-low {^{14}hbox {C}} levels (below 10^{-18}) is required. The existing OSIRIS detector and JUNO infrastructure will be instrumental in identifying suitable scintillator materials, offering a unique chance for a low-budget high-precision measurement of a fundamental property of our Sun that will be otherwise hard to access.

Energy calibration of EJ-301 scintillation detector using unfolding methods for fast neutron measurement

We simulated a 2′′×2′′ EJ-301 organic liquid scintillation detector in the GEANT4 framework to obtain its response to standard gamma and neutron sources. The resolution scale and Birks’ constant for the EJ-301 scintillator have been estimated by comparing the simulation with experimental data. We calibrated the detector for fast neutron measurements with the help of an Am–Be source using two unfolding methods: RooUnfold and Gravel unfold. The neutron spectra obtained from both unfolding methods are similar to the Am–Be ISO (International Organization for Standardization) spectrum. The calibrated detector can be used in an underground site to understand the neutron background in rare event search experiments.

GEANT4-based calibration of an organic liquid scintillator

A light-yield calibration of an NE 213A organic liquid scintillator detector has been performed using both monoenergetic and polyenergetic gamma-ray sources. Scintillation light was detected in a photomultiplier tube, and the corresponding pulses were subjected to waveform digitization on an event-by-event basis. The resulting Compton edges have been analyzed using a GEANT4 simulation of the detector which models both the interactions of the ionizing radiation as well as the transport of scintillation photons. The simulation is calibrated and also compared to well-established prescriptions used to determine the Compton edges, resulting ultimately in light-yield calibration functions. In the process, the simulation-based method produced information on the gain and intrinsic pulse-height resolution of the detector. It also facilitated a previously inaccessible understanding of the systematic uncertainties associated with the calibration of the scintillation-light yield. The simulation-based method was also compared to well-established numerical prescriptions for locating the Compton edges. Ultimately, the simulation predicted as much as 17% lower light-yield calibrations than the prescriptions. These calibrations indicate that approximately 35% of the scintillation light associated with a given gamma-ray reaches the photocathode. It is remarkable how well two 50 year old prescriptions for calibrating scintillation-light yield in organic scintillators have stood the test of time.

The ORNL Deuterated Spectroscopic Array — ODeSA

Abstract An array consisting of 12 deuterated organic liquid scintillator detectors for fast-neutron spectroscopy was designed and built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This versatile array is designed for measurements with low reaction yields, such as those performed with rare isotope beams, as well as at high current DC facilities used for underground nuclear astrophysics research. Because some measurements also offer limited, or no, additional timing information, the ORNL Deuterated Spectroscopic Array (ODeSA) was optimized to utilize spectrum unfolding to extract neutron energy spectra . This array was characterized for n/ γ pulse shape discrimination, light response, resolution, and intrinsic efficiency by using the neutron time-of-flight tunnel at the Edwards Accelerator Laboratory at Ohio University. Results and future plans are discussed.

Passive, non-intrusive assay of depleted uranium.

The ability to detect neutrons from the spontaneous fission of 238U in samples of depleted uranium with organic liquid scintillation detectors is presented. In this paper we introduce a small modular organic liquid scintillator detector array that can detect changes in mass of 238U between 3.69 g and 14.46 g. To do this, 18-h assays of various masses of 0.3% wt. of depleted uranium dioxide were assessed using four EJ-309 detectors, a mixed field analyser operated in pulse gradient analysis mode, and associated counting components. We observe a background-corrected fast neutron count sensitivity of (2.0 ± 0.3) × 10-4 n g-1 s-1 per detector. This research demonstrates a proof of concept for depleted uranium quantity to be assessed passively on a non-intrusive basis via its spontaneous fission decay.

An event-triggered coincidence algorithm for fast-neutron multiplicity assay corrected for cross-talk and photon breakthrough

A model quantifying detector cross-talk and the misidentification of events in fast neutron coincidence distributions is described. This is demonstrated for two experimental arrangements comprising rings of 8 and 15 organic liquid scintillation detectors. Correction terms developed as part of this model are tested with 252Cf and a relationship is developed between the 235U enrichment of U3O8 and the order of correlated, fast neutron multiplets induced by an americium–lithium source. The model is also supported by Geant4 simulations. The results suggest that a typical assay, for experimental arrangements that are similar to the examples investigated in this research, will exhibit cross-talk for less than 1% of all detected fast neutrons but, if not accounted for, this can bias the numerical analysis by a margin of 10% and 35% in second- and third-order coincidences (i.e. couplet and triplet counts), respectively. Further, for the case of 252Cf, it is shown that a relatively low proportion of 4% breakthrough by γ rays (that is, photons misidentified as neutrons by the pulse-shape discrimination process) can lead to an erroneous increase of 20% in total neutron counts in the assay of a mixed-field, in this case of 252Cf. These findings will help direct the developments needed to enable organic scintillation detectors with pulse shape discriminators to be applied reliably to nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation verification tasks.

A Model for Remote Depth Estimation of Buried Radioactive Wastes Using CdZnTe Detector.

This paper presents the results of an attenuation model for remote depth estimation of buried radioactive wastes using a Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detector. Previous research using an organic liquid scintillator detector system showed that the model is able to estimate the depth of a 329-kBq Cs-137 radioactive source buried up to 12 cm in sand with an average count rate of 100 cps. The results presented in this paper showed that the use of the CZT detector extended the maximum detectable depth of the same radioactive source to 18 cm in sand with a significantly lower average count rate of 14 cps. Furthermore, the model also successfully estimated the depth of a 9-kBq Co-60 source buried up to 3 cm in sand. This confirms that this remote depth estimation method can be used with other radionuclides and wastes with very low activity. Finally, the paper proposes a performance parameter for evaluating radiation detection systems that implement this remote depth estimation method.

Development of the high-energy neutron fluence rate standard field in Japan with a peak energy of 45 MeV using the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction at TIARA

ABSTRACTIn this study, we developed a 45 MeV neutron fluence rate standard of Japan. Quasi-monoenergetic neutrons with a peak energy of 45 MeV in the neutron standard field were produced by the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction using a 50-MeV proton beam from an azimuthally varying field (AVF) cyclotron of the Takasaki Ion Accelerators for Advanced Radiation Application (TIARA). The neutron energy spectrum was measured using an organic liquid scintillation detector and a 6Li-glass scintillation detector by the time-of-flight method, and using a Bonner sphere spectrometer by the unfolding method. The absolute neutron fluence was determined using a proton recoil telescope (PRT) composed of the liquid scintillation detector and a Si(Li) detector that was newly developed in the present study. The detection efficiency of the PRT was obtained using the MCNPX code. The peak neutron production cross section for the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction was also derived from the neutron fluence in order to confirm the neutron fluence of the TIARA high-energy neutron field. The peak neutron production cross section obtained in the present study was in good agreement with those of previous studies. The characteristics of the 45-MeV neutron field in TIARA were successfully evaluated in order to calibrate high-energy neutron detectors and high-energy neutron dosimeters.

Active fast neutron singles assay of 235U enrichment in small samples of triuranium octoxide

The sensitivity of an active fast neutron assay system for the measurement of 235U enrichment in small samples of low-enriched triuranium octoxide (U3O8) is described. The system comprises four organic liquid scintillation detectors in a polyethylene container in which a stimulating americium-lithium neutron source is placed below the sample to be interrogated. The sensitivities of both the singles and doubles assay have been corrected for the contribution from the stimulating source and for spontaneous fission in 238U and found to be (0.116 ± 0.008) cps per detector per % wt. (7%) and (0.0006 ± 0.0002) cps per detector per % wt. (33%), respectively. The singles approach with the 4-detector arrangement has been compared via Monte Carlo (MCNP-5) simulations with a fast neutron counting system based on 12 detectors in which the source is placed adjacent to the sample, similar to the arrangement referred to as the liquid scintillator uranium neutron collar. This comparison confirms that whilst singles assay with the 4-detector arrangement is feasible, the collar arrangement does not yield a singles yield that can be correlated with enrichment due to the perturbative scattering by the U3O8 sample. The 4-detector arrangement is particularly suitable for small samples of fresh, low-enriched material that might arise in forensic applications and the analysis of un-irradiated, orphan wastes. In these cases the efficiency of coincidence methods may be too low to yield a practical route to enrichment assessment. Conversely, the use of many detectors and/or a high-intensity source by which sensitivity might be increased might restrict the portability and ease of use of the apparatus. A correction for the contribution by (α, n) reactions, the stimulating source, spontaneous fission in 238U and self-multiplication in U3O8 is made via preparatory passive measurements.

Solar neutrino detection in a large volume double-phase liquid argon experiment

Precision measurements of solar neutrinos emitted by specific nuclear reaction chains in the Sun are of great interest for developing an improved understanding of star formation and evolution. Given the expected neutrino fluxes and known detection reactions, such measurements require detectors capable of collecting neutrino-electron scattering data in exposures on the order of 1 ktonne-yr, with good energy resolution and extremely low background. Two-phase liquid argon time projection chambers (LAr TPCs) are under development for direct Dark Matter WIMP searches, which possess very large sensitive mass, high scintillation light yield, good energy resolution, and good spatial resolution in all three cartesian directions. While enabling Dark Matter searches with sensitivity extending to the ``neutrino floor'' (given by the rate of nuclear recoil events from solar neutrino coherent scattering), such detectors could also enable precision measurements of solar neutrino fluxes using the neutrino-electron elastic scattering events. Modeling results are presented for the cosmogenic and radiogenic backgrounds affecting solar neutrino detection in a 300 tonne (100 tonne fiducial) LAr TPC operating at LNGS depth (3,800 meters of water equivalent). The results show that such a detector could measure the CNO neutrino rate with ∼15% precision, and significantly improve the precision of the 7Be and pep neutrino rates compared to the currently available results from the Borexino organic liquid scintillator detector.

Fast neutron tomography with real-time pulse-shape discrimination in organic scintillation detectors

A fast neutron tomography system based on the use of real-time pulse-shape discrimination in 7 organic liquid scintillation detectors is described. The system has been tested with a californium-252 source of dose rate 163μSv/h at 1m and neutron emission rate of 1.5×107 per second into 4π and a maximum acquisition time of 2h, to characterize two 100×100×100mm3 concrete samples. The first of these was a solid sample and the second has a vertical, cylindrical void. The experimental data, supported by simulations with both Monte Carlo methods and MATLAB®, indicate that the presence of the internal cylindrical void, corners and inhomogeneities in the samples can be discerned. The potential for fast neutron assay of this type with the capability to probe hydrogenous features in large low-Z samples is discussed. Neutron tomography of bulk porous samples is achieved that combines effective penetration not possible with thermal neutrons in the absence of beam hardening.

Organic liquid scintillation detector shape and volume impact on radiation portal monitors

We have developed and tested a radiation portal monitor using organic liquid scintillation detectors. In order to optimize our system designs, neutron measurements were carried out with three organic liquid scintillation detectors of different shapes and sizes, along with a 3He radiation portal monitor (RPM) as a reference.The three liquids tested were a 7.62cm diameter by 7.62cm length cylindrical active volume organic liquid scintillation detector, a 12.7cm diameter by 12.7cm length cylindrical active volume organic liquid scintillation detector, and a 25cm by 25cm by 10cm “paddle” shaped organic liquid scintillation detector. Background and Cf-252 neutron measurements were recorded to allow for a comparison of neutron intrinsic efficiencies as well as receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves between detectors.The 12.7cm diameter cylindrical active volume organic liquid scintillation detector exhibited the highest intrinsic neutron efficiency (54%) of all three liquid scintillators. An ROC curve analysis for a heavily moderated Cf-252 measurement showed that using the 12.7cm diameter by 12.7cm length cylindrical active volume Eljen EJ309 organic liquid scintillation detector would result in the fewest needed detector units in order to achieve a near 100% positive neutron alarm rate while maintaining a better than 1 in 10,000 false alarm rate on natural neutron background. A small number of organic liquid scintillation detectors could therefore be a valid alternative to 3He in some RPM applications.

Recent Borexino results and prospects for the near future

The Borexino experiment located in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, is an organic liquid scintillator detector conceived for the real time spectroscopy of low energy solar neutrinos. The phase-I of the data taking campaign (2007 – 2010) has allowed the first independent measurements of 7 Be and pep solar neutrino fluxes as well as the first measurement of anti-neutrinos from the Earth. After a purification of the scintillator, Borexino is now in phase-II since 2011. Thanks to the unprecedented background levels, we have performed the first flux measurement of neutrinos from the fundamental pp reaction which powers the Sun. We review this breakthrough result and other recent results, including the latest review of our terrestrial neutrino analysis. We also discuss the upcoming measurements on middle energy solar neutrino spectral components (pep, CNO) and the new project SOX devoted to the study of sterile neutrinos via the use of a neutrino source placed in close proximity of the detector’s active material.

Achievements in solar neutrino physics with the Borexino detector

AbstractBorexino is an organic liquid scintillator detector located in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in central Italy. It has been designed for real‐time spectroscopy of low energy solar neutrinos. In Phase I of the experiment lasting for three years, between May 2007 and May 2010, the Collaboration performed the first independent measurements of 7Be, 8B, and pep solar neutrino fluxes. After a dedicated purification campaign of the liquid scintillator in 2011, Borexino entered into Phase II which allowed to investigate the seasonal modulation in the 7Be signal. In 2014, Borexino provided the first direct real time measurement of pp neutrinos accomplishing the whole pp‐cycle that powers the Sun. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Time-of-Flight Measurements for Low-Energy Components of 45-MeV Quasi-Monoenergetic High-Energy Neutron Field from <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">${^7{\rm Li}({\rm p}, {\rm n})}$</tex></formula> Reaction

A quasi-monoenergetic neutron field generated in the ${^7{\rm Li}({\rm p}, {\rm n})}$ reaction consists of a high-energy monoenergetic peak and a continuum to the low-energy region. In this study, the spectral fluence of the continuum was measured with the time-of-flight (TOF) method using a ${^6{\rm Li}}$ -glass scintillation detector and an organic liquid scintillation detector for the keV and MeV region, respectively. The neutron spectral fluence was determined down to the keV region by implementing a new beam chopping system and the results showed that the neutrons that came directly from the target had a lower energy limit about 100 keV. Discussions were made also on the effect of the time-independent neutrons which are assumed to be room-scattered neutrons. The obtained information is expected to contribute to understanding the quasi-monoenergetic high-energy neutron field and improvements of calibrating neutron detectors in the field.

Neutron gamma fraction imaging: Detection, location and identification of neutron sources

In this paper imaging of neutron sources and identification and separation of a neutron source from another neutron source is described. The system is based upon organic liquid scintillator detector, tungsten collimator, bespoke fast digitiser and adjustable equatorial mount. Three environments have been investigated with this setup corresponding to an AmBe neutron source, a 252Cf neutron source and both sources together separated in space. In each case, events are detected, digitised, discriminated and radiation images plotted corresponding to the area investigated. The visualised neutron count distributions clearly locate the neutron source and, relative gamma to neutron (or neutron to gamma) fraction images aid in discriminating AmBe sources from 252Cf source. The measurements were performed in the low scatter facility of the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, UK.