EXPERIMENTAL AND MONTE CARLO INVESTIGATIONS OF BCF-12 SMALL‑AREA PLASTIC SCINTILLATION DETECTORS FOR NEUTRON PINHOLE...

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Plasma Physics
• Detector Technology

Background:

• Plastic organic scintillators, like BCF-12, are cost-effective and adaptable tools.
• BCF-12 scintillators are being considered for mapping neutron emissions from dense magnetized plasma.
• Accurate neutron spatial distribution is crucial for understanding plasma behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and construct small-area detectors using BCF-12 scintillation rods and photomultiplier tubes.
• To evaluate the efficiency of these detectors for neutron detection within a plasma focus device.
• To test different geometrical configurations for the scintillation elements.

Main Methods:

• Experimental characterization using a neutron generator and a Plutonium-Beryllium (Pu-Be) neutron source.
• Computational modeling utilizing the Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit.
• Fabrication of 5 mm × 5 mm detectors for integration into a neutron pinhole camera.

Main Results:

• The efficiency of the BCF-12 based detectors was experimentally determined.
• Monte Carlo simulations provided complementary data for efficiency assessment.
• Two distinct geometrical designs for the scintillation elements were investigated.

Conclusions:

• The developed BCF-12 detectors are suitable for spatial neutron distribution studies in plasma.
• The combination of experimental and computational methods provides a robust approach for detector characterization.
• These detectors will be deployed in the PF-24 plasma focus device for advanced plasma diagnostics.