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Neutron flux monitors are commonly used for a variety of nuclear physics applications. A scintillating neutron detector, consisting of a liquid scintillator loaded with fissionable material, has been developed, characterized, and tested in a neutron beam line at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, and shows a significant improvement in neutron sensitivity compared with a conventional fission chamber. Recent research on nanocomposite- based scintillators for gamma-ray detection indicates that this approach can be extended to load nanoparticles of fissionable material into a scintillating matrix, with up to three orders of magnitude higher loading than typical fission chambers. This will result in a rugged, cost-efficient detector with high efficiency, a short signal rise time, and the ability to be used in low neutron-flux environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement of the neutron capture cross-sections of a number of short-lived isotopes would advance both pure and applied scientific research. These cross-sections are needed for calculation of criticality and waste production estimates for the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, for analysis of data from nuclear weapons tests, and to improve understanding of nucleosynthesis. However, measurement of these cross-sections would require a detector with a faster signal decay time than those used in existing neutron capture experiments. Crystals of faster detector materials are not available in sufficient sizes and quantities to supply these large-scale experiments. Instead, we propose to use nanocomposite detectors, consisting of nanoscale particles of a scintillating material dispersed in a matrix material. We have successfully fabricated cerium uoride (CeF3) nanoparticles and dispersed them in a liquid matrix. We have characterized this scintillator and have measured its response to neutron capture. Results of the optical, structural, and radiation characterization will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]