Applications of boron-loaded scintillating fibers as NDA tools for nuclear safeguards

Nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation rely on nondestructive analytical tools for prompt and noninvasive detection, verification, and quantitative analysis of nuclear materials in demanding environments. A new tool based on the detection of correlated neutrons in narrow time windows is being investigated to fill the niche created by the current limitations of the existing methods based on polyethylene moderated 3He gas proportional tubes. Commercially produced Boron-loaded (10B) plastic scintillating fibers are one such technology under consideration. The fibers can be configured in a system to have high efficiency, short neutron die-away, pulse height sensitivity, and mechanical flexibility. Various configurations of the fibers with high density polyethylene have been considered which calculationally result in high efficiency detectors with short die-away times. A discussion of the design considerations and calculations of the detector efficiency, die-away time, and simulated pulse height spectra along with preliminary test results are presented