Neutron hardness of EJ-276 scintillation material

TL;DR

This study investigates how fast neutron irradiation affects the optical and discrimination properties of EJ-276 scintillator, providing insights into its durability and performance in neutron detection applications.

Contribution

It presents the first comprehensive analysis of EJ-276 scintillator's response to high-fluence fast neutron irradiation, including changes in light yield and discrimination capabilities.

Findings

Light yield decreases after irradiation.

Neutron/gamma discrimination performance is affected.

Optical spectra show irradiation-induced changes.

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the fast neutron irradiation (E$_n$ > 0.5MeV) of an EJ-276 scintillator performed in the MARIA research reactor with fluence up to 5.3$\times$10$^{15}$ particles/cm$^2$. In our work, four samples with size $\phi$25.4~mm$\times$5~mm were tested. The changes in the light yield, emission and absorption spectrum and neutron/gamma discrimination using PuBe source before and after irradiation are presented. The figure of merit in neutron/gamma discrimination based on the charge integration method for different neutron fluences and different short gate integration times are determined.