Abstract
NaI(Tl+Li) (NaIL) is a promising new inorganic scintillator for thermal neutron detection with the ability for pulse shape discrimination (PSD). In this study, we first built a dual-gamma/neutron sensitive detector based on a NaIL scintillator, a photomultiplier tube and a custom-built circuit. Then, we investigated its temperature response and optimized the PSD parameters, obtaining a figure of merit (FOM) of up to 4.5 at 0–50°C. Also, we examined the effect of the count rate on the detector's neutron and gamma discrimination performance; after optimization, we obtained an FOM of above 3.0 at 5000–40000 counts per second. Lastly, we estimated the neutron detection efficiency of this detector, which is about 13 cps/nv. This detector gave an excellent performance in neutron/gamma discrimination, and can be used widely in the detection of mixed radiation fields.
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