Low-energy neutron spectrometer using position sensitive proportional counter—Feasibility study based on numerical analysis

There is no direct technique to measure a neutron energy spectrum, particularly in the lower energy region, because the reaction Q value for detection is much larger than the neutron energy to be measured. However, such techniques are becoming a necessity, for example, in medical applications such as boron neutron capture therapy. In this study, a new spectrometer to measure low-energy neutrons (from thermal to 100 eV) is investigated numerically. We propose a unique approach of estimating the neutron energy spectrum by analyzing the distribution of neutron detection depths in the detector using an exact relation between the neutron energy and nuclear reaction cross-section. The proposed spectrometer has been established to be feasible to manufacture. The conversion performance of the neutron detection depth distribution to the neutron energy spectrum has also been proven to be acceptable, with the unfolding process based on Bayes’ theorem, even though the detector response function is non-distinctive (without peaks or edges). The present spectrometer is now under development, and its practical performance will be reported as soon as the prototype detector is completed.