Absolute calibration of neutron detectors in the 10--30 MeV energy range

A central problem in fast neutron research is that of finding the absolute efficiency of neutron detectors. Using the associated particle method for this purpose, we have designed a chamber to count He particles from the D(d,n)3He or the T(d,n)4He reaction in coincidence with neutron events. The reactions take place in deuterium or tritium gas and a ΔE solid state counter at 800, 650, or 430 to the 2-10 MeV deuteron beam direction detects the He particles with 100 percent efficiency. To reduce background we allow the deuterons to pass out of the gas chamber through a Ni window and stop the beam approximately 150 cm from the counters. With the D(d,n)3He reaction we have obtained approximately 2 percent efficiency calibration of the central portion of a liquid scintillator in the 9-10 MeV energy range. With the T(d,n) reaction this calibration can be extended to approximately 27 MeV and the efficiency can be mapped out as a function of position in the scintillator