Projects per year
Abstract
The next generation of very-short-baseline reactor experiments will require compact detectors operating at surface level and close to a nuclear reactor. This paper presents a new detector concept based on a composite solid scintillator technology. The detector target uses cubes of polyvinyltoluene interleaved with 6LiF:ZnS(Ag) phosphor screens to detect the products of the inverse beta decay reaction. A multi-tonne detector system built from these individual cells can provide precise localisation of scintillation signals, making efficient use of the detector volume. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that a neutron capture efficiency of over 70 % is achievable with a sufficient number of 6LiF:ZnS(Ag) screens per cube and that an appropriate segmentation enables a measurement of the positron energy which is not limited by γ-ray leakage. First measurements of a single cell indicate that a very good neutron-gamma discrimination and high neutron detection efficiency can be obtained with adequate triggering techniques. The light yield from positron signals has been measured, showing that an energy resolution of 14%/√E(MeV) is achievable with high uniformity. A preliminary neutrino signal analysis has been developed, using selection criteria for pulse shape, energy, time structure and energy spatial distribution and showing that an antineutrino efficiency of 40% can be achieved. It also shows that the fine segmentation of the detector can be used to significantly decrease both correlated and accidental backgrounds.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | P04024 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Journal of Instrumentation |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Apr 2017 |
Keywords
- Calorimeters
- Neutrino detectors
- Neutron detectors (cold, thermal, fast neutrons)
- Particle identification methods
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'A novel segmented-scintillator antineutrino detector'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished