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Gd 3 Al 2 Ga 3 O 12 :Ce (GAGG) scintillators with different readout photo-sensors, a 2 × 2 matrix of four SensL ARRAY J-60035-4P-BGA silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), and a HAMAMATSU R5505-70 photomultiplier (PMT) have been tested for neutrons obtained from neutron generators exploiting d-d and d-t reactions. It was demonstrated that neutrons having energy 2.8 MeV produce in the detector materials the spectrum of secondary particles, which is identical to the spectrum measured under thermal neutrons of the isotope sources. The pulse height spectra detected under 14.6 MeV neutrons were found to be quite different. Pulse shape discrimination (PSD) data processing technique was applied to separate neutron and γ-ray signals. The signals of secondary particles, protons, and α-particles were confidently distinguished at the strong background of the γ-rays. The results gathered open up the prospects of using the GAGG scintillator to identify neutrons generated in d-t reactions against a strong background of γ-rays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the shortage of the 3He gas and its rapidly increasing price, scintillator detectors, the advantages of which are high spatial resolution and capability of detection in real time, become widely used in many neutron instruments. In this work, a position-sensitive neutron detector consisting of a 6LiF/ZnS scintillation screen and a silicon photomultiplier array linked to a capacitive network to detect the positions of incident neutrons, is constructed and tested. To evaluate the detector performance, a series of neutron beam experiments with the detector prototype were performed in the BL20 at the China Spallation Neutron Source. The spatial resolution was measured, and the energy-selective neutron imaging and Bragg edge measurements of a 316L stainless steel sample were performed. A sub-millimeter spatial resolution could be obtained for the detector prototype under study. The detector with such a high spatial resolution is promising for applications in neutron scattering experimental installations, especially for neutron single-crystal diffractometers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 128-channel positron detection system will be constructed at Experimental Muon Source (EMuS) of China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) to conduct muon spin rotation/relaxation/resonance ($\mu $ SR) measurements. Each detector channel consists of a scintillator, a light guide, and a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The long light guide is bent to an “L” shape to propagate optical photons from the scintillator to the PMT. A series of Geant4 simulations and experiments has been performed to optimize the light collection performance of the L-bent detector. Geometry deformation induced by the bending process has been well modeled. Simulation results agree with the experimental tests. Accordingly, a novel hybrid wrapping method (scintillator with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and light guide with aluminum tape) has been developed to improve the amplitude of detector signals greatly. Compared to wrapping the detector with merely PTFE tapes or aluminum tapes, this method leads to an enhancement in light collection efficiency of 73% or 14%, respectively. Two optimally manufactured prototype detectors using the novel wrapping method have been tested at the ISIS Muon Facility. The beam tests demonstrated that the L-bent detectors can precisely measure the behavior of muon spins inside samples. Therefore, the L-bent detector design is competent for $\mu $ SR applications at CSNS/EMuS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigated in this work were sensitivities of a prototype detector for the detection of low-mass dark matter particles produced at the Spallation Neutron Source at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2 years of data taking. The presumed prototype consisted of 10 kg undoped CsI or NaI scintillation crystals directly coupled with SiPM arrays operated at 77 K. Compared to the COHERENT CsI(Na) detector, a much higher light yield was assumed for the prototype. An experiment with a cylindrical 1 kg undoped CsI crystal coupled directly to two photomultiplier tubes at about 77 K was conducted as the first step to verify the idea. A light yield of 26.0 ± 0.4 photoelectrons per keV electron-equivalent was achieved. This eliminated the concern of self light absorption in large crystals raised in some of the early studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two inorganic scintillator detectors consisting of Yb:YAG scintillators and photomultiplier tubes, and an oscilloscope were used to studied the neutron sensitivities of Yb:YAG scintillators at the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) Back-n white neutron source. The relative neutron sensitivity curves of two Yb:YAG scintillators in the energy region between 0.5 and 20 MeV were obtained for the first time. As the measured relative neutron sensitivity curves of Yb:YAG scintillators cannot be verified by the Monte Carlo method and there was no referable data, the neutron sensitivity curve of a ST401 scintillator was also studied in the same method and a Geant4 simulation of ST401 scintillator was conducted to verify the experiment method in this paper. The result showed that the experimental and simulation results were approximately consistent between 17–20 MeV, and agreed well between 1–17 MeV. A comparison between the experimental result and references of ST401 scintillator was also applied and the result showed that the curve tendency of the experimental result and references was matched. The above results imply that the measured relative neutron sensitivity curves and the experimental method used herein were reliable. It also demonstrated the feasibility of studying the neutron sensitivity of inorganic scintillator based on the white neutron source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work summarizes a fast neutron detection performance of two different silicon photomultipliers from two manufacturers. The first SiPM (MAPD-3NK) from Zecotek Photonics consists of deeply buried cells with the active area 3. 7 × 3. 7 mm2. The second one (MPPC-S12572-010P) from Hamamatsu, however, consists of surface cell structure which the active area is 3 × 3 mm2. Both SiPMs have the same pixel density of 10 000 mm−2. Both SiPMs coupled to Stilbene (5 ∗ 5 ∗ 5 mm3) and p-terphenyl (5 ∗ 5 ∗ 5 mm3) plastic scintillators were evaluated for detection ability of fast neutrons using a PuBe neutron source. Charge comparison and zero crossing neutron/gamma discrimination techniques were performed for these detectors and the results were compared. The obtained results prove a good fast neutron detection performance of the SiPMs which makes it possible to use these types of neutron detectors in fast neutron detection applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust neutron detector was developed to monitor the neutron flux in fast-neutron/gamma radiography (FNGR) cargo scanners. The main features of the new neutron detector were an ability to handle high count rate for statistical precision and a high damage threshold for longevity when used close to intense fast neutron sources (up to 1010 n/s). The detector comprises a fast scintillator coupled to a shielded 100 pixel Hamamatsu 1 mm x 1 mm silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) via a 220 cm length of wavelength shifting (WLS) plastic fibre. The WLS fibre was glued onto two long sides of a 10 mm x 10 mm x 50 mm scintillator wrapped in Tyvek reflector. Scintillation pulses of up to ∼40 photons reached the SiPM. With the detector mounted 60 mm from a, Thermo A-325 DT neutron generator (up to 6 x 107 n/s) the count rate was over 4 x 104 counts per second. The SiPM gain was effectively stabilised against temperature variations by automatically trimming the bias voltage with SiPM temperature. Comparison data is provided for a photodiode-scintillator neutron detector placed 134 cm from the A-325 neutron generator and for a PMT-WLS-scintillator neutron detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compact neutron imagers using double-scatter kinematic reconstruction are being designed for localization and characterization of special nuclear material. These neutron imaging systems rely on scintillators with a rapid prompt temporal response as the detection medium. As n–p elastic scattering is the primary mechanism for light generation by fast neutron interactions in organic scintillators, proton light yield data are needed for accurate assessment of scintillator performance. The proton light yield of a series of commercial fast plastic organic scintillators – EJ-200, EJ-204, and EJ-208 – was measured via a double time-of-flight technique at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Using a tunable deuteron breakup neutron source, target scintillators housed in a dual photomultiplier tube configuration, and an array of pulse-shape-discriminating observation scintillators, the fast plastic scintillator light yield was measured over a broad and continuous energy range down to proton recoil energies of approximately 50 keV. This work provides key input to event reconstruction algorithms required for utilization of these materials in emerging neutron imaging modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]