Characterization of a 4He Scintillation Detector and its Applications in Nuclear Material Assay ...

• Main Author: Searfus, Oskar
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: My University 2024
• Subjects: fast neutrons; neutron detection; nuclear security; nuclear safeguards; He-4; Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences; Physics; Engineering; Science; Arktis; Arktis*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/22935; http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/193290

Helium-4-based scintillation detectors have been developed as a gamma-insensitive alternative to organic scintillators for fast neutron detection and spectroscopy. While these detectors hold significant promise for applications in extreme environments where organic scintillators are not suitable, there has been relatively little scholarship on their fundamental characteristics and applications. The only commercially available He-4-based detector is the Arktis S670. This detector has a unique construction, containing three optically segmented regions, each providing four signal outputs. An algorithm was developed to condense these four outputs into a single data list, showing an improved time resolution compared to a separate analysis of the outputs, and an energy calibration using monoenergetic 2.45 MeV and 14.1 MeV neutrons was demonstrated. Another experiment was performed to characterize the response of the He-4 detector to monoenergetic nuclear recoils up to 9 MeV. The He-4 detector was positioned in the ...