A neutron pinhole camera for PF-24 source: Conceptual design and optimization

Abstract

A fast-neutron pinhole camera based on small-area (5mm × 5 mm) BCF-12 scintillation detectors with nanosecond time resolution has been designed. The pinhole camera is dedicated to the investigation of the spatial and temporal distributions of DD neutrons from the Plasma Focus (PF-24) source. The geometrical parameters of the camera have been optimized in terms of maximum neutron flux at the imaging plane by means of MCNP calculations. The detection system consists of four closely packed scintillation detectors coupled via long optical fibres to Hamamatsu H3164-10 photomultiplier tubes. The pinhole consists of specially designed 420 mm long copper collimator with an effective aperture of 1.7 mm mounted inside a cylindrical polyethylene tube. The performance of the presented detection system in the mixed (hard X-ray and neutron) radiation field of the PF-24 plasma focus device has been tested. The results of the tests showed that the small-area BCF-12 scintillation detectors can be successfully applied as the detection system of the neutron pinhole camera for the PF-24 device.