Development of a liquid scintillator neutron multiplicity counter (LSMC)

A new neutron multiplicity counter is being developed that utilizes the fast response of liquid scintillator detectors. The ability to detect fast (vs. moderated) fission neutrons makes possible a coincidence gate of the order of tens of nanoseconds (vs. tens of microseconds). A neutron counter with such a narrow gate will be virtually insensitive to accidental coincidences, making it possible to measure items with a high single neutron background to greater accuracy in less time. This includes impure Pu items with high (α, n) rates as well as items of low-mass HEU where a strong active interrogation source is needed. Liquid scintillator detectors also allow for energy discrimination between interrogation source neutrons and fission neutrons, allowing for even greater assay sensitivity. Designing and building a liquid scintillator multiplicity counter (LSMC) requires a symbiotic effort of simulation and experiment to optimize performance and mitigate hardware costs in the final product. We present preliminary Monte-Carlo studies using the GEANT toolkit.