https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-03840-6
Regular Article
The NCT-WES directional neutron spectrometer: validation of the response with monoenergetic neutron fields
1
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, via Enrico Fermi 40, 00044, Frascati, Italy
2
ENEA-Department of Fusion and Technologies for Nuclear Safety and Security, via Enrico Fermi 44, 00044, Frascati, Italy
3
Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, 10125, Torino, Italy
4
INFN, Sezione di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, 10125, Torino, Italy
5
National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, TW11 0LW, Teddington, Middlesex, UK
6
CIEMAT, Av. Complutense 40, 28040, Madrid, Spain
7
Università degli Studi di Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100, Pavia, Italy
8
INFN, Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100, Pavia, Italy
h
antonino.pietropaolo@enea.it
Received:
15
November
2022
Accepted:
23
February
2023
Published online:
24
March
2023
A directional neutron spectrometer named NCT-WES (Neutron Capture Therapy Wide Energy Spectrometer) was developed for quality assurance of the therapeutic neutron beam in Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT). NCT-WES operates as a “parallelized” Bonner spheres spectrometer, embedding six semiconductor-based thermal neutron detectors in a collimated cylindrical moderator. With the objective of validating the simulation model used to derive its response matrix, irradiations in reference monoenergetic fields were performed at National Physical Laboratory (UK). As the energy distributions of neutron beams in NCT extend from keV to a few MeV, monoenergetic fields in this domain were chosen, namely 71.5 keV, 144.2 keV, 565.1 keV, 841.9 keV and 1200.4 keV. The results of the experiment confirm the correctness of the NCT-WES simulation model, within an overall uncertainty lower than ± 2%.
© The Author(s) 2023
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