Development of a new fast neutron spectrometer using 6Li-depleted Cs2LiYCl6 scintillators.

摘要

A unique alternative to traditional methods of fast neutron spectroscopy was explored in this work using 6Li-depleted Cs 2LiYCl6:Ce (CLYC) scintillators. These inorganic scintillators were found to provide spectroscopic information on fast neutrons via the 35Cl(n,p)35S and 35Cl(n,alpha) 32P reactions and exhibit neutron/gamma pulse-shape discrimination. In additional to detailed characterizations of the material's response function, an array of 16 6Li-depleted CLYC detectors (C7LYC) was designed, constructed, and tested for future applications in neutron spectroscopy. Measurements of mono-energetic neutrons up to 20 MeV were carried out at the University of Kentucky and used to characterize the detector's response. Monte Carlo simulations of the response were carried out with MCNPX to investigate the various reaction mechanisms involved in the total response. Measurements of a continuous spallation neutron source with energies up to 700 MeV were carried out at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) using the time-of-flight method to measure the light output as a function of incident neutron energy and generate a detector response matrix. Spectral unfolding of C7LYC's response was investigated using the Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization method. The performance of the 16-detector array, SCANS, was studied to determine rate and energy dependent properties of the detectors, such as resolution, and pulse-shape discrimination, when exposed to fast neutrons and gamma-rays.