A New Liquid Scintillator for Thermal Neutron Detection

A liquid-scintillator system has been developed for the detection of thermal neutrons. The method employs the Li⁶(n,α)H³ reaction; the resulting tritons and alpha particles interact with the scintillator to produce light photons which are detected in the usual manner. Lithium-6 salicylate is used as the active component of the scintillating solution and is unusual in that it serves not only as a target for the reaction but also serves as the solution fluor. This paper describes the various characteristics and properties of the new scintillator system.