p-Terphenyl: An alternative to liquid scintillators for neutron detection

A derailed characterization of doped paralerphenyl (p-Terphenyl) neutron detectors was obtained by means of gamma-sources and a Cf-252 fission chamber. The intrinsic Liming resolution, the energy resolution up to 2 MeVee, and the electron equivalent energy calibration were determined using gamma-sources. The neutron time-of-flight spectrum from the spontaneous fission of Cf-252 provided information On the proton energy calibration, the light output function, and the intrinsic neutron detection efficiency between 0 and 8 MeV for a threshold 01250 keV. Measurements of the latter were also performed using monoenergetic neutron beams. The applied experimental methods were cross-checked using two BC501A scintillation detectors, which were previously calibrated at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig, Germany. Results were compared to Monte-Carlo simulations performed using NRESP7 and NEFF7 codes. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.