Performance Characterization of a Plastic-Scintillator Sensor for Fast-Neutron, Thermal-Neutron, and Gamma-Ray Discrimination

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Liu, Yuhang, An, Fengpeng, Luo, Guang, Wang, Wei, Zhang, Xuesong, Lu, Dixiao, Yin, Xiaohao
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Liu, Yuhang
An, Fengpeng
Luo, Guang
Wang, Wei
Zhang, Xuesong
Lu, Dixiao
Yin, Xiaohao
author_facet Liu, Yuhang
An, Fengpeng
Luo, Guang
Wang, Wei
Zhang, Xuesong
Lu, Dixiao
Yin, Xiaohao
contents Discrimination of fast neutrons, thermal neutrons, and $γ$ rays in mixed radiation fields is important for radiation monitoring, reactor-related measurements, and background suppression in nuclear experiments. In this work, we investigate a compact plastic-scintillator sensor composed of EJ276 or EJ200 optically coupled to an EJ426 thermal neutron screen and read out by a single photomultiplier tube (PMT). The $γ$ equivalent energy response of the detector assemblies was calibrated using $^{137}$Cs, $^{22}$Na, and $^{60}$Co sources through Compton edge analysis, and pulse shape discrimination was evaluated with an AmBe neutron source under different moderator thicknesses. The EJ200+EJ426 assembly provides a well separated discrimination between thermal-neutron capture events and $γ$ dominated events over the measured range, with a figure of merit greater than 5. In contrast, the EJ276+EJ426 assembly produced three identifiable signal populations associated with $γ$ rays, fast neutrons, and thermal neutrons. These results show that the proposed sensor architecture is a promising compact approach for mixed field radiation applications
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_15585
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Performance Characterization of a Plastic-Scintillator Sensor for Fast-Neutron, Thermal-Neutron, and Gamma-Ray Discrimination
Liu, Yuhang
An, Fengpeng
Luo, Guang
Wang, Wei
Zhang, Xuesong
Lu, Dixiao
Yin, Xiaohao
Instrumentation and Detectors
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Discrimination of fast neutrons, thermal neutrons, and $γ$ rays in mixed radiation fields is important for radiation monitoring, reactor-related measurements, and background suppression in nuclear experiments. In this work, we investigate a compact plastic-scintillator sensor composed of EJ276 or EJ200 optically coupled to an EJ426 thermal neutron screen and read out by a single photomultiplier tube (PMT). The $γ$ equivalent energy response of the detector assemblies was calibrated using $^{137}$Cs, $^{22}$Na, and $^{60}$Co sources through Compton edge analysis, and pulse shape discrimination was evaluated with an AmBe neutron source under different moderator thicknesses. The EJ200+EJ426 assembly provides a well separated discrimination between thermal-neutron capture events and $γ$ dominated events over the measured range, with a figure of merit greater than 5. In contrast, the EJ276+EJ426 assembly produced three identifiable signal populations associated with $γ$ rays, fast neutrons, and thermal neutrons. These results show that the proposed sensor architecture is a promising compact approach for mixed field radiation applications
title Performance Characterization of a Plastic-Scintillator Sensor for Fast-Neutron, Thermal-Neutron, and Gamma-Ray Discrimination
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
High Energy Physics - Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.15585