CHELSI: a portable neutron spectrometer for the 20-800 MeV region

Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2007;126(1-4):223-8. doi: 10.1093/rpd/ncm046. Epub 2007 May 22.

Abstract

CHELSI is a CsI-based portable spectrometer being developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for use in high-energy neutron fields. Based on the inherent pulse shape discrimination properties of CsI(Tl), the instrument flags charged particle events produced via neutron-induced spallation events. Scintillation events are processed in real time using digital signal processing and a conservative estimate of neutron dose rate is made based on the charged particle energy distribution. A more accurate dose estimate can be made by unfolding the 2D charged particle versus pulse height distribution to reveal the incident neutron spectrum from which dose is readily obtained. A prototype probe has been assembled and data collected in quasi-monoenergetic fields at The Svedberg Laboratory (TSL) in Uppsala as well as at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). Preliminary efforts at deconvoluting the shape/energy data using empirical response functions derived from time-of-flight measurements are described.

MeSH terms

  • Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Miniaturization
  • Neutrons*
  • Radiation Dosage
  • Radiometry / instrumentation*
  • Radiometry / methods*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Spectrum Analysis / instrumentation*
  • Static Electricity