NEUTRON WORKPLACE SPECTROMETRY (ENERGY AND DIRECTION) USING TL DETECTORS: FIRST APPROACH AND RESPONSE FUNCTIONS

Area of Science:

• Nuclear physics
• Radiation detection and measurement
• Dosimetry

Background:

• Albedo dosemeters are sensitive to neutron energy and angle, requiring field calibration for personal dosimetry.
• Current single-sphere calibration methods can be improved for better accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of an extended calibration method for albedo dosemeters.
• To optimize the field calibration of neutron personal dosemeters.

Main Methods:

• Reference measurements and Monte Carlo simulations were conducted.
• Five albedo dosemeters and two thermoluminescence (TL) cards were placed on and within a polyethylene sphere.
• Fluence response of detectors at various positions was determined.

Main Results:

• Calculated response functions were obtained for detectors on and within the sphere.
• The extended method demonstrated the ability to extract energy and directional neutron fluence information.
• The setup proved effective for characterizing unknown neutron fields.

Conclusions:

• The proposed multi-detector sphere method offers an optimized approach for albedo dosemeter field calibration.
• This technique enhances the capability to determine energy and directional neutron fluence distributions.
• The findings support improved accuracy in personal neutron dosimetry.