A method of neutron energy evaluation by using an imaging plate and cone-like acryl converters with a geometrical modulation concept

Cone-like acryl converters have been used for transforming the energy-distribution information of incident fast neutrons into the spatial-distribution information of recoil protons. The characteristics of neutron–proton conversion have been studied up to around 10 MeV by using an imaging plate (IP). A notable and interesting signal enhancement due to recoil protons generated in an acryl converter was observed on IP images for irradiation with a 252Cf source. Similar experiments were also performed in the radiation field of a research nuclear reactor and an accelerator-based neutron generator. A Monte Carlo calculation was carried out in order to understand the spatial distributions of the signal enhancement by recoil protons; these distributions promisingly involve the energy information of incident neutrons in principle. Consequently, it has been revealed that the neutron energy evaluation is surely possible by analyzing the spatial distributions of signal enhancement that is caused by recoil protons.