Development of neutron-gamma discrimination technique using pattern-recognition method with digital signal processing

We have developed a new neutron-gamma (n-γ) pulse shape discrimination technique, a pattern-recognition method, for an NE213 scintillation detector by using digital signal processing. In this method, a signal to be analyzed is digitized and regarded as a vector, and the n-γ discrimination is performed by taking a scalar product of the signal with a reference wave form vector to see the similarity of the pulse shape. We applied the method to an NE213 scintillation detector, and compared the results with those by the conventional curve-fitting and charge-integration methods. The pattern-recognition method proved to achieve best neutron-γ separation with short data processing time comparable with the charge-integration method. This technique will be applied to various applications including pulse-shape analysis even in real time operation owing to quick data processing. (author)