A new scintillator for fast neutron detection: Single-crystal CeCl 3(CH3OH)4

J. S. Neal, L. A. Boatner, Z. W. Bell, S. M. McConchie, D. Wisniewski, J. O. Ramey, J. A. Kolopus, B. C. Chakoumakos, M. Wisniewska, R. Custelcean

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7 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new scintillator material for the detection of fast neutrons that consists of a methanol adduct of cerium trichloride with the composition CeCl3(CH3OH)4 has been characterized using 14.1 MeV neutrons from a deuterium-tritium neutron generator and fast neutrons from a bare instrumented 252Cf source. The timing resolution of the scintillator for fast neutrons was found to be ̃ 1 ns. Neutron interactions in the CeCl3(CH3OH)4 composition were simulated using the MCNP-PoliMi code. These simulations indicate that proton recoils account for most of the deposited energy in CeCl3(CH 3OH)4. The crystalline molecular adduct CeCl 3(CH3OH)4 represents a rare-earth metal-organic scintillator that can be applied to both fast neutron and gamma-ray detection.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5485147
Pages (from-to)1692-1696
Number of pages5
JournalIEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science
Volume57
Issue number3 PART 3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2010

Funding

Manuscript received October 15, 2009; revised March 02, 2010; accepted March 14, 2010. Date of current version June 16, 2010. This work was supported by the NNSA Office of Nonproliferation Research and Engineering (NA-22). Oak Ridge National Laboratory is operated by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.

Keywords

  • Fast neutron
  • Metal organic
  • Rare earth
  • Scintillator

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