Pure commercial gold foils as neutron flux monitor: Neutron self-shielding assessment

An assessment of pure commercial (99.9%) gold foils as neutron flux monitor was performed. A thin foils of pure commercial gold were prepared as an in-house reference material for neutron flux measurement. The assessed foils are available commercially and its cost is much less than the certified ones. Determination of the neutron self-shielding factors in these foils for both thermal and epithermal neutrons have been done experimentally. These foils show good results repeatability and good agreement with certified activation monitors. According to the well-known physical constants of the nuclide and its low cost comparing with certified foils, it can be used as an in-house reference monitor