Using the JCC-71 neutron coincidence collar as a benchmark for detector characterization with PTR-32 list mode data acquisition

Augmenting or interchanging current international safeguards shift register−based data acquisition systems with list mode data acquisition systems gives nondestructive assay (NDA) systems greater versatility. Neutron list mode data analysis offers comparable analytical results to the more widely used shift register analysis in nuclear material quantification applications and offers several diagnostic tools that are specifically beneficial to in-laboratory characterization and calibration measurements. These benefits include identification of non-ideal behavior, optimization of operational parameters from a single measurement, and an improved understanding of the physics-based behavior of NDA systems for a more precise system representation and more confident assay results. In this work the advantages of using list mode data acquisition for detector characterization are demonstrated experimentally. Two commercial-off-the-shelf International Atomic Energy Agency-supported technologies are used for a typical detector characterization procedure and their performance is compared. Specifically, a 3He-based Canberra Industries JCC-71 Neutron Coincidence Collar is characterized using the Hungarian Institute of Isotopes' Pulse Train Recorder-32 (PTR-32) list mode data acquisition system, and the results are compared to those obtained using the standard Canberra Industries JSR-15 model shift register. The quantitative results from the two systems are in agreement, which demonstrates that the PTR-32 is a technically viable alternative to conventional shift register electronics for this task. A suitable procedure for full instrument characterization is described, and the added benefits of list mode for characterization and data collection are discussed. This is an important step toward establishing a procedure for the routine use of list mode data acquisition and analysis for neutron NDA system characterization in safeguards field applications.