Characterization of a 6Li-loaded liquid organic scintillator for fast neutron spectrometry and thermal neutron detection

Author-Highlights
• We developed a lithium-loaded organic scintillator with 0.40% Li-6 by mass.
• The scintillator was characterized for optical properties and neutron response.
• We performed spectrometry on fast neutrons using capture-gated coincidence.
• We performed ambient thermal neutron fluence measurements.

The characterization of a liquid scintillator incorporating an aqueous solution of enriched lithium chloride to produce a scintillator with 0.40% 6Li is presented, including the performance of the scintillator in terms of its optical properties and neutron response. The scintillator was incorporated into a fast neutron spectrometer, and the light output spectra from 2.5 MeV, 14.1 MeV, and 252Cf neutrons were measured using capture-gated coincidence techniques. The spectrometer was operated without coincidence to perform thermal neutron measurements. Possible improvements in spectrometer performance are discussed.