Novel LaCl₃(Ce)-based spectrometer for deuterium plasma neutron diagnostics

This work studies in detail the application possibility of a chlorine-based cerium-doped scintillator crystal [LaCl₃(Ce)] to the task of D-D neutron spectrometry. We conducted an experimental campaign aimed at deriving the optimal setup parameters and energy calibration using a variety of available neutrons and γ-sources. The GEANT4 code was used for modeling the detector response to γ-ray irradiation. By observing the intrinsic background α-activity of the crystal, we were able to fine-tune the pulse-shape discrimination parameters, achieving a satisfactory α/n/γ pulse selection. We also investigated the LaCl₃(Ce)-based spectrometer response under D-D-neutron irradiation by means of the ING-07D neutron generator with the yield of 1 × 10⁷ n/s. The GEANT4 simulation provided us with the comprehensive overview of detector performance. The acquired results demonstrate the possibility of using the LaCl₃(Ce) scintillation spectrometer for the purposes of deuterium plasma neutron diagnostics.