Neutron spectrometer for fast nuclear reactors

In this paper we describe the development and first tests of a neutron spectrometer designed for high flux environments, such as the ones found in fast nuclear reactors. The spectrometer is based on the conversion of neutrons impinging on 6Li into α and t whose total energy comprises the initial neutron energy and the reaction Q-value. The 6LiF layer is sandwiched between two CVD diamond detectors, which measure the two reaction products in coincidence. The spectrometer was calibrated at two neutron energies in well known thermal and 3 MeV neutron fluxes. The measured neutron detection efficiency varies from 4.2×10−4 to 3.5×10−8 for thermal and 3 MeV neutrons, respectively. These values are in agreement with Geant4 simulations and close to simple estimates based on the knowledge of the 6Li(n,α)t cross-section. The energy resolution of the spectrometer was found to be better than 100 keV when using 2.5 or 5 m cables between the detector and the preamplifiers.