Radiation Protection Dosimetry Advance Access originally published online on May 18, 2007
Radiation Protection Dosimetry 2007 126(1-4):337-341; doi:10.1093/rpd/ncm070
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Set-up of a passive Bonner sphere system for neutron spectrometry at mixed fields with predominant photon component based on activation detector
1 Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, BP 3, 13115 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance Cedex, France
2 Grup de Física de les Radiacions, Departament de Física, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra. Spain
* Corresponding author: khalil.amgarou{at}irsn.fr
A passive Bonner sphere system (BSS), based on thermal neutron activation detectors, was developed to perform neutron spectrometry in pulsed and very intense (n-
) fields with predominant photon component, as those produced by high energy (>10 MV) medical linear electron accelerators. In this paper, a description of the new system is presented together with an experimental characterisation of a portable Sodium Iodide (NaI) detector and a fixed high-purity Germanium one, both used to measure the induced
-activity of the activated materials, respectively, in situ and in the laboratory. The choice of the activated materials is justified according to pre-established practical considerations and physical criteria. The response functions of the entire passive BSS were calculated using the MCNPX code. A preliminary experimental validation with a bare 252Cf source is given as well.