NUCLEAR

INSTRUMENTS
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A328 (1993) 522-525 & METHODS
North-Holland IN PHYSICS
RESEARCH
Section A

Integral test of a boron-10 loaded liquid scintillator

for neutron detection
H.P. Chou and C.Y . Horng
Department of Nuclear Engineering National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan

Received 15 August 1992 and in revised form 6 October 1992

A neutron detection system using a boron loaded liquid organic scintillator is presented. Double photomultipliers and a
coincidence circuitry are used to enhance light collection and noise rejection. The neutron/gamma separation is based on pulse
shape discrimination . Evaluations on time resolution, gamma rejection, MeV neutron response, and slow neutron counting
efficiency are performed using standard neutron/gamma sources and a Van de Graaff accelerator. Comparisons with an NE213
neutron spectrometer and a BF3 counter are reported .

1. Introduction neutron counting efficiency are described. Compar-

Large volume loaded liquid scintillators offer many
advantages over other slow neutron detectors, in par-
ticular, the high detection efficiency . t° B loaded scintil-
lators, slow neutrons are detected primary by
t° B(n, a)7Li capture reactions; in principle, fast neu-
trons are readily detected through recoil protons in
scattering reactions with hydrogen atoms in the solu-
tion [1]. The additional quenching induced by loaded
substances such as boron compounds may however
degrade the light yield and decay characteristics signifi-
cantly [2,3], leading to poor gamma rejection in appli-
cations of fast neutron detection. Recent developments
of the chemical composition of loaded scintillators
have been extensive [4,5]. The improved light charac-
teristics, density and hydrogen contents makes loaded
scintillators more attractive for high energy neutron
detection. Therefore, there is a considerable interest to
explore their applications as a wide range neutron
monitor .
In the present study, we chose a recently developed
t'B loaded liquid scintillator BC523A and set up a
neutron detection system using off-the-shelf instru-
ments to evaluate its performance in detecting fast as
well as slow neutrons . The scintillator is â 5 cm X 5 cm
cylinder which contains 4.4% by weight of 90% en-
riched 1° B [6]. As listed in table 1, the commercially
available boron loaded scintillators have a higher den-
sity and a hydrogen to carbon ratio than the popular
NE213 scintillator . The following sections present the
configuration and the characteristics of the detection
system . Measurements of the pulse shape discrimina-
tion property, MeV neutron energy response, and slow
isons with an NE213 neutron spectrometer and a BF3
counter are also discussed.
2. Experimental system
Fig. 1 is the block diagram of the neutron detection
system. A design concern for the present system was
the thermal noise and stability associated with the
scintillation process and photomultiplier tubes (PMTs).
Therefore, we chose a double-PMT configuration to
set up a fast coincidence circuitry to enhance noise
rejection and light collection . The PMTS available to
the study were ten-stage units which gave a relatively
slow rise-time. We had to use fast filter amplifiers
(FFAs) to improve signal characteristics and impedance
matching and then fed to constant fraction discrimina-
tors (CFDs) for leading edge trigger. Resolving time of
the fast coincidence unit had a nominal value of 30 ns
which was adjusted using a nuclear pulser according to
the counts obtained from each CFD and the coinci-
dence unit .
Gamma rejection is by discriminating the integral
rise-time of the shaping amplifier output using a time-
to-amplitude converter (TAC) . As shown in fig. 1, the
leading edge timing from one of the CFD units serves
as the starting signal ; the zero crossover timing of the
shaping amplifier measured by a timing single channel
analyzer (TSCA) serves as the stop signal. Pulse shape
simulations were performed using the P-SPICE pack-
age to assist setting of shaping constants. The TAC
output is further gated with the fast coincidence output

0168-9002/93/$06 .00 © 1993 - Elsevier Science Publishers BV All rights reserved

 HP. Chou, C.Y Horng / Test of a 10B hqucd seinallator 523

Table 1
Properties of BC523A, NE311, and NE213 scintillators
Detector Density Light yield H/C ratio Wavelength Decay time
[g/cm3] relative to of maximum of short
anthracene [%] emission [nm] component [ns]
BC523A 0.916 65 1.74 424 3.7
NE311 0.91 65 1 .701 425 3.8
NE213 0.874 78 1.213 425 3.7

for noise rejection. Time walk of the system was evalu-
ated using a nuclear pulser and laboratory gamma
sources. The 40-h long term time uncertainty, in terms
of full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM), due to elec-
tronic noise was found to be 0.37 ns over a pulse height
dynamic range of 40. The overall time uncertainty
tested using gamma sources in the energy range of 50
keV to 2 MeV was approximately 2.6 ns and was
dominated by the scintillator-PMT module . One of
the advantages of the scintillator over BF3 counters is
fast timing . We have examined the time walk of the
present system by varying the counting rates up to
10 5/s ; only small effects on time walk were found.
For pulse height measurements, we sum up the
amplifier outputs and record with a microcomputer-
based multichannel analyzer (MCA) which is gated
with the gamma rejector for neutron event analysis .
The scintillator light output was calibrated using the 60
keV photopeak of 24 'Am and the Compton edges of
'3'Cs and 22 Na . A calibration curve was obtained by a
least square fit. The electron energy response of the
system was found to be linear, a pulse height of one
volt corresponding to an electron energy of 183 keV.
Coincidence loss due to the double-PMT arrangement
was also determined from the gamma source measure-
ments to be approximately 20% .

H. V. H V. 1 c0o
(c) n/r ratio = 1 8

PRE dynode dynode PRE

AMP PMT BC 523A PMT AMP
anode anode z4
S
U

unipolor DUAL unipolor z

AMP SUM AMP 0U
AMP
bipolar

FFA FFA

TSCA CFD CFD z

z
a
negative positive U
-i w zcco
DELAY FAST
0
COINCIDENCE U

stop + start
TAC/SCA DELAY
gate
0 r-
lao zoo
I i I i

0
ADC CHANNEL NUMBER (0054 ns /ch)
gate
MCA Fig. 2. Effect of gamma intensity on rise-time spectra: (a) a 0.5
mCi Am/Be source only ; (b) the Am/Be source with 1 p.Ci
Fig. 1. Block diagram of neutron detection system . 137Cs and 10 I Ci 22 Na gamma source .
524 HP. Chou, C Y. Horng / Test of a 10 B liquid scintillator

3. Pulse shape discrimination

P-P - 3 5 ns
M = 1 2
Pulse shape discrimination (PSD) was tested using a 200- P/V = 4 2
Ra/Be and an Am/Be neutron source . The effect of Z
Z
gamma background intensity and energy on PSD was Q
investigated . The measured rise-time spectra were ana- U
lyzed by examining the neutron peak-to-valley ratio
(P/V), the time interval between gamma and neutron
peaks (P-P), and a figure of merit M. The M value is
calculated as the ratio of the peak interval to the sum
of the FWHM of gamma/neutron peaks [7].
To test the effect from gamma background inten-
sity, we have measured rise-time spectra of the 0.5 mCi 100 200
CHANNEL NUMBER (0054 ns/ch)
Ra/Be source under the conditions of bare, 10 cm and
20 cm lead shielding respectively . The Ra/Be source Fig. 4. The Am/Be rise-time spectrum measured using the
boron loaded scintillator .
has a very large gamma background ; even with a 20 cm
lead shield, the M value was slightly larger than one
and gamma rejection in these cases was difficult. The
better PSD property than the BC523A system . The
rise-time spectrum of the 0.5 mCi Am/Be source is
reason is attributed to be the lower light output from
shown in fig. 2a . The source has a much lower gamma
the loaded scintillator.
background ; the neutron/ gamma ratio as indicated is
about 1 .8 . The measured peak-to-valley ratio is 2.86,
the peak-to-peak interval is 3.78 ns, and the M value is
4. Neutron response
1.06. We deliberately increased the gamma background
by putting a 1 WCi 137Cs and a 10 wCi 22 Na gamma
The monoenergetic neutron response was obtained
sources together with the Am/Be source . As shown in
from the 'Be + a reaction using the Tsing Hua 3 MV
fig. 2b, the neutron/ gamma ratio is decreased to about
Van de Graaff accelerator. The detector was aligned
0.47 and the neutron events are barely visible with a
perpendicular to the alpha beam and had a distance of
peak-to-valley ratio of 1.24 .
12 cm to the Be target. Three neutron energies 6.2, 6.5,
The PSD performance of the present system was
and 6.8 MeV were selected for testing. Fig. 5 is a
compared with a 5 cm x 5 cm NE213 spectrometer.
typical rise-time spectrum with a threshold equivalent
Using a Phillips 56AVP high gain PMT with the NE213
to 300 keV electron energy . In the tested energy range,
scintillator, the Am/Be rise-time spectrum showed an
the pulse height of 6 MeV protons was approximately
M value of 1 .8 and a P-P value of 13 ns . We also
equal to that of 1 MeV electrons. The rather small
replaced the PMT with the low gain ones used in the light output indicates that quenching is much stronger
BC523A system and compared their performance. As than in NE213.
shown in figs . 3 and 4, the use of a low gain PMT Slow neutrons were generated by inserting a 10 mCi
degrades the NE213 performance slightly but still a Am/Be source into a 5 cm thick ppraffin cylinder. The

W
Z
Z
Q
N
HZ
O
U

0 100 200 300 400 500

CHANNEL NUMBER (0 054 ns/ch)
CHANNEL NUMBER (0054 ns/ch)
Fig. 3. The Am/Be rise-time spectrum measured using the Fig. 5. A rise-time spectrum of the 9Be(a, n) 12 C reaction ;
NE213 spectrometer . Ea = 2 .5 MeV, E = 6 .8 MeV.
 HP. Chou, C.Y. Horng / Test of a 1°B liquid scintillator
detector was shielded with 5 cm thick lead blocks to
reduce gamma interference . The very slow capture
alpha events had a rise-time of about 300 ns but were
difficult to be picked up using the present system .
Alternatively, we took the difference of the integral
counts obtained with and without a cadmium shell as a
measure of the slow neutron events . The measure-
ments were repeated using a BF 3 counter to compare
counting efficiency . The BF3 counter (LND 20210) is a
2.5 cm X 25 cm long cylinder with a filling pressure of
70 cm Hg . Results indicated that the slow neutron
counting efficiency per unit volume was five time higher
than that of BF,
5. Summary
A neutron detection system has been developed to
evaluate the PSD properties and fast/slow neutron
response of a commercially available boron-loaded liq-
uid scintillator . To enhance light collection and noise
rejection, a double-PMT coincidence design is used.
Evaluations have shown that : (a) gamma/neutron sep-
aration is adequate but less effective than that of the
NE213 scintillator; (b) high energy neutron detection
around an accelerator facility is feasible ; (c) comparing
with the commonly used BF 3, the size of the detector
525
can be reduced by an order of magnitude for a compa-
rable slow neutron detection efficiency . The results
indicate that the present system is promising to serve
as a dual purpose neutron monitor for fast as well as
slow neutron detection.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr . H.L. Hang and the
operators of the Van de Graaff Accelerator, Depart-
ment of Physics, National Tsing Hua University for
their assistance in the accelerator experiments .
References
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