title: Characterization of a 6Li-loaded liquid organic scintillator for fast neutron spectrometry and thermal neutron detection.
abstract: The characterization of a liquid scintillator incorporating an aqueous solution of enriched lithium chloride to produce a scintillator with 0.40% (6)Li is presented, including the performance of the scintillator in terms of its optical properties and neutron response. The scintillator was incorporated into a fast neutron spectrometer, and the light output spectra from 2.5 MeV, 14.1 MeV, and (252)Cf neutrons were measured using capture-gated coincidence techniques. The spectrometer was operated without coincidence to perform thermal neutron measurements. Possible improvements in spectrometer performance are discussed.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA. cbass@jlab.org
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Bass
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Beise
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Breuer
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Heimbach
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Langford
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Nico
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007554:Isotopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects; D008094:Lithium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D009502:Neutrons; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D012588:Scintillation Counting / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012996:Solutions; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012996:Solutions; D008094:Lithium