Bureau Stand. The nanopowders are mixed with the inorganic scintillator ZnS:Ag (commercial name EJ-600 from Eljen Technology, grain size is claimed to be 8 \(\upmu m\)) and entrapped into polydimethylsiloxane as a scaffold, thus producing a lightweight, flexible and thin thermal neutron sensing material. Pino, F. et al. Crha, J., Vila-Comamala, J., Lehmann, E., David, C. & Trtik, P. Light yield enhancement of 157-gadolinium oxysulfide scintillator screens for the high-resolution neutron imaging. In previous research done by our group, a valid alternative has been found. An illustration of the pulse-height spectra comparison can be seen in Fig. J. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Given that the ratio of the number of \(^{10}\)B and \(^{6}\)Li nuclei in the LiBO is 2:1, and that the (n\(_{th}\),\(\alpha\)) reaction cross-section for the \(^{10}\)B is approximately four times higher, it is reasonable to assume that the majority of the thermal neutron events recorded are due to capture reaction on \(^{10}\)B. Detecting fast and thermal neutrons with a boron loaded liquid scintillator, EJ-339A. Boron-Based Neutron Scintillator Screens for Neutron Imaging. S.M.C. Nucl. 10e,f the PSD plots of the EJ-276G/LiBO assembly coupled to the MPPC array are shown. The scope of the Monte Carlo model is to quantify the amount of neutron capture reactions, which, compared with the experimentally observed counting rate, can give an estimation of how many captures actually produced a measurable event. The comparison is particularly focused on the scintillator samples having a weight ratio of 3:1 between the ZnS:Ag powder and the LiBO preparation. Sect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2004.04.165 (2004). A 969, 164078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164078 (2020). Instrum. Giaz, A. et al. 8). The connections were made with an optical fiber using the CAEN CONET2 protocol. Res. Highly concentrated, zwitterionic ligand-capped Mn\(^{2+}\):CsPb(Br\(_{x}\) Cl\(_1-{x}\))\(_{3}\) nanocrystals as bright scintillators for fast neutron imaging. The detector showed an optimum performance, providing a high thermal neutron detection efficiency23, as compared to the EJ-420 commercial scintillator. B. Scintillations from organic crystals: Specific fluorescence and relative response to different radiations. Generally, every type of neutron detector must be equipped with a converter (to convert neutron radiation to common detectable radiation) and one of the conventional radiation detectors (scintillation detector, gaseous detector, semiconductor detector, etc.). Nucl. FoM values are reported in Fig. Finally, Sharma et al.31 covered a 2\(^{\prime \prime}\) EJ-299-33A plastic scintillator with a EJ-426 thin sheet and obtained good results in terms of triple particle discrimination, but taking into account the poor flexibility of the EJ-426 sheet, the assembly of this heterogeneous detector appears to be particularly tricky. 202, 110494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2022.110494 (2023). Stilbene, an Organic Scintillator for Fast Neutron Detection The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office was established in December 2017 by consolidating primarily the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, a majority of the Office of Health Affairs, as well as other DHS elements. A polyethylene moderator with a thickness of 6 cm was placed between the source and the detector. Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Pino, F. et al. The Pechini method is well known for the optimal size control and crystal quality achievable through it. and JavaScript. & Bazin, D. LISE++: Radioactive beam production with in-flight separators. The spectra of precursors are also reported for comparison. In contrast, the EJ-426 detector cannot withstand a curvature radius lower than 16 mm. Nucl. The light output per neutron capture reaction of the ZnS:Ag/LiBO/PDMS detector can be calculated using the Bertolaccini method, where the position of the single photoelectron peak of the PMT was compared to the mean value of the detectors pulse-height spectrum when the detector is exposed to a thermal neutron flux. A bending test was done to highlight the flexibility capabilities of the LiBO-based scintillator. In both cases, for events with light output larger than 0.4 MeVee, there is a complete separation between \(\gamma\)-rays and fast neutrons (FoM > 1.2), whereas, thermal neutron events are completely separated from the other events in any condition. where \(\Delta\) and \((\delta _{n}+\delta _{\gamma })\), are obtained from a PSD parameter histogram (see Fig. The light reaction products (alpha and tritium) emitted after the neutron capture reactions might escape the LiBO grain, travel through the matrix and hit the scintillating grain (ZnS:Ag). Market. Characterization of a medium-sized CLLB scintillator: Single neutron/gamma detector for radiation monitoring. Using a neutron flux generated at the Van de Graaff accelerator at Legnaro National Laboratories (Legnaro, Italy) and a \(^{252}\)Cf source, the neutron detection efficiency of the samples was assessed. Finally, the response of a hybrid detector made of a plastic scintillator, wrapped with the proposed scintillator, coupled to a silicon photomultiplier array is described, and the excellent discrimination between \(\gamma\)-rays, fast and thermal neutrons resulting from data processing is demonstrated. Google Scholar. Intercomparison of cosmic-ray neutron sensors and water balance monitoring in an urban environment. PubMed Google Scholar. Instrum. Calvi, S. et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-8388(96)02819-8 (1997). Imaging 6, 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/jimaging6110124 (2020). A distributed data acquisition system for nuclear detectors. Compd. The neutron flux was obtained by impinging the proton beam from the accelerator into a \(^{7}\)Li target (700 \(\upmu\) g/cm\(^2\) thick), where the following nuclear reaction takes place \(^{7}\)Li(p,n)\(^{7}\)Be. In terms of practical applications, it means that \(\gamma\)-rays, fast and thermal neutrons can be detected and discriminated simultaneously. 6b,c the 2D-PSD plots of the EJ-420 and one of the ZnS:Ag/LiBO-based scintillator are shown respectively. Taking into account that the fluorophore entrapped into the light emitting composite sensor is the same (ZnS:Ag) used in EJ-420, a negligible difference between the shape of the signals is expected. Grodzicka- Kobylka, M. et al. Pola, A., Rastelli, D., Treccani, M., Pasquato, S. & Bortot, D. DIAMON: A portable, real-time and direction-aware neutron spectrometer for field characterization and dosimetry. The configuration takes advantage of the proposed detector flexibility, as two plastic scintillators (EJ-276G and EJ-299 from Eljen Technology) with fast neutron/gamma discrimination capabilities, were completely wrapped with the LiBO-based scintillator. Evidence of fast neutron detection capability of the cllb scintillation detector. Methods Phys. ADS (a) 2D-PSD and (b) 1D-PSD plots of the ZnS:LiBO (3:1) (20% v/v)/PDMS-based detector covering the curved part and the top surface of EJ-299 plastic scintillator cylinder using a moderated \(^{252}\)Cf source. Res. On the other hand, the intrinsic response of the ZnS:Ag/LiBO-based detector to the presence of a \(\gamma\)-ray field was evaluated using a set of calibration gamma sources. PubMed Central Presently, the increasing interest in the development of new nuclear power plants, pushed forward by the current, dramatic energy crisis, demands modern safeguards equipment to ensure that nuclear material is not diverted from peaceful uses. A 2D-PSD plot consisted in plotting the PSD parameter of each event as a function of its \(Q_{total}\). Phys. 71(3), 853861. 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Electron. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. As can be observed the ZnS:Ag/LiBO/PDMS scintillator can easily reach a small curvature radius, demonstrating exceptional flexibility. Appl. Conversely, in the case of capture on \(^6\)Li, both reaction products, i.e. \(\times 2^{\prime \prime}\) thick. Boron-loaded plastic scintillator with neutron-\(\gamma\) pulse shape discrimination capability. A 988, 164898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164898 (2021). As a matter of fact, the quenching effect in scintillators is proportional to the specific energy loss, dE/dx, of the particle, and as Li ions are heavier and have larger Z with respect to the alpha particles, they have higher dE/dx, hence higher quenching effect is expected for Li ions40,41. Book Ziegler, J. F., Ziegler, M. & Biersack, J. SRIMThe stopping and range of ions in matter. Thermal neutron detection with negligible (or recognizable) response to \(\gamma\)-rays is of great interest, and different scintillation materials have been developed. We developed optical fiber-based neutron detectors that use small pieces of 6Li-based scintillators, namely, Eu:LiCaAlF6 crystals and LiF/Eu:CaF 2 eutectics. Novel detector assembly for neutron/gamma-ray discrimination applications based on large-sized scintillators coupled to large area SiPM arrays. Radiat. A novel detector assembly for detecting thermal neutrons, fast neutrons and gamma rays. Neutron Detection Since x.s. A 1005, 165398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2021.165398 (2021). The crystals were doped with Na, CO3 and Tl activators with the aim to develop a scintillator having enhanced neutron detection efficiency. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.03.019 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2015.11.119 (2016). In our spectra, taking into account the isotopic effect, the successful synthesis of Lithium borate is confirmed, although in the case of direct synthesis a clear, dominant presence of trigonal coordination in the boron compound is pointed out by the intense peaks in the region above 1200 cm\(^{-1}\). Excellent discrimination was found between the three types of particles in all cases, with a FoM values larger than 1.2 for events with a light output greater than 0.4 MeVee. Carturan, S. et al. For comparison purposes, the same test was executed on the EJ-426 detector, from Eljen Technologies Texas-USA. The mono-energetic fast neutrons (\(\sim\) 3.8 MeV at 0\(^{\circ }\)) were moderated by surrounding the detector assembly with a few centimeters of polyethylene (in Ref.29 it has been demonstrated that \(\sim\) 6cm is a reasonable thickness). Rev. These type of detectors are commonly used on homeland security applications, for special nuclear material identifications, nuclear experiments, etc. Nucl. . The proposed LiBO-based scintillator (with an estimated efficiency between 13 and 31%) offers a response as good as other similar scintillation detectors, demonstrating that it is sufficient for most detection applications. The weight ratios have been chosen in analogy with commercial scintillators. alpha (\(\sim\)2MeV) and tritium (\(\sim\)2.7MeV), contribute to the signal generation. Res. Thermal neutron relative efficiencies of the ZnS:Ag/LiBO-based detectors with respect to the EJ-420 detector. Very good results were obtained compared to the performance of the commercial EJ-420 scintillator (from Eljen Technology), reaching up to 57% of relative thermal neutron detection efficiency, in particular with the ZnS:Ag/LiBO (2:1) (40% v/v)/PDMS scintillator. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2006.04.173 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-2860(99)00164-7 (1999). Article van der Ende, B. M., Li, L., Godin, D. & Sur, B. Stand-off nuclear reactor monitoring with neutron detectors for safeguards and non-proliferation applications. The direct synthesis method was applied by weighing the proper amount of each reactant (\(^{6}\)Li\(_{2}\)C\(O_{3}\): H\(_{3}^{10}\)B\(O_{3}\) 1:4 in mol), mixing in the agate mortar and transferring it in the alumina boat for calcination. 5. Nucl. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.05.079 (2016). The larger the FoM value, the better the system discrimination. The problem of thermal neutron detection by organic and inorganic materials is the subject for discussion since the late fifties and is relevant in the current investigations [5, 20, 21].For high a values the thermal neutron path in a scintillator is significantly shorter than the penetration depth of photons of gamma radiation of middle and high-energies. The decay time of the ZnS:Ag/LiBO-based scintillator signal is \(\sim\) 200ns, which is in agreement with the decay time exhibited by the EJ-420 signals. 1). A \(^{252}\)Cf source was placed in front of the detector, and it was moderated with 6 cm of polyethylene. This possibility is close at hand, taking into account the cutting-edge technology that very recently led to ultra-highly sensitive organic phototransistors (OPTs), with an unprecedented limit of detection as low as few nW/cm\(^2\)35. was reproduced in the G4VUserDetectorConstruction class. Neutron-gamma discrimination (NGD) for gadolinium-containing scintillators is a challenging issue which prevents them from being used in highly efficient neutron detectors with high signal-to-noise ratios. The fast neutrons emitted follow the so-called Watt energy spectrum (mean value around 2.1 MeV). The tunable structure and versatile chemical compositions of halide perovskites provide . Pino, F., Delgado, J.C., Carturan, S.M. It means that the neutron emission rate (intensity) and the angular distribution as a function of the neutron energy should be known. The \(\gamma\)-rays region in the 2D-PSD plot is slightly curved at high energies. Res. Modern digitizers are based on a programmable FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), where the digitized waveform can be pre-processed online. (d) Picture of the EJ-276G/LiBO hybrid detector coupled to a Hamamatsu S14161-6050HS-04 MPPC array. Res. 6(12), 43654373. assisted in the XRD analysis. Sect. LiGlass scintillators are very popular for the detection of thermal neutrons. The HV unit and the digitizer were controlled from the computer using a VME to PCI Optical Link Bridge (CAEN V2718 model) and a CAEN A3818 PCI Express CONET2 Controller (installed on a PC). S1), the dimension of the LiBO grains (average of \(\sim\)2\(\upmu\)m) was found to be very close to the range of \(^7\)Li ions (E = 0.84MeV) in LiBO (density = 2.4g/cm\(^3\)), which is 2.1\(\upmu\)m. So, the probability that a \(^7\)Li ion escapes from a LiBO grain is expected to be low, furthermore, if it escapes, the energy deposited on a ZnS:Ag grain (and subsequently the light yield) would be low in comparison with the one deposited by the alpha particle. Meas. 5(3), 206212. ADS If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. All scintillators were coupled optically to the PMTs using clear silicone grease. Nuclear medicine applications, such as the boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), are current cutting-edge therapeutic facilities in which reliable neutron sensors are needed. yielding design principles to optimize and foster an era of NC-based scintillators for fast neutron imaging. This is a further characteristic that makes the ZnS:Ag/LiBO/PDMS detector a good candidate for neutron detection in a great variety of applications, as highlighted before. X-ray detection, which plays an important role in medical and industrial fields, usually relies on inorganic scintillators to convert X-rays to visible photons; although several high-quantum-yield . Using the Bertolaccini method45, the average absolute light output of the ZnS:Ag/LiBO-based detector corresponding to one neutron capture event was determined. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2018.12.005 (2019). Assessment of secondary neutrons in particle therapy by Monte Carlo simulations. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate the slides or the slide controller buttons at the end to navigate through each slide. the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Existing spectrometers allow the determina-tion of uence spectra (and dose) for low energy neutron . Recent developments in Geant4. Appl. Cester, D., Nebbia, G., Stevanato, L., Pino, F. & Viesti, G. Experimental tests of the new plastic scintillator with pulse shape discrimination capabilities EJ-299-33. Sect. Google Scholar. The main goal of this work is to develop a novel flexible and conformable composite scintillator to be used as a highly efficient thermal neutron detector. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2011.04.019 (2011). Btourn, E. & Touboul, M. Synthesis of lithium borates (B/Li\(\ge\)3) as LiB3O5 by dehydration of hydrated precursors. (d) Energy spectrum of the detector tested with the \(^{252}\)Cf source. Nucl. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2014.05.025 (2014). The possibility to achieve a fully flexible hybrid device composed of a conformable light-emitting sensor coupled with a thin, pliable photoconverter is extremely exciting. PubMedGoogle Scholar. The neutron-imaging detectors using ZnS/ 6 LiF (powder) have become successful because of the large yield of luminescent light and moderate first decay component of 200 ns, however, they are still required to be improved in detection efficiency and counting rate. The siloxane-based blend that composes the scintillator does not reach the rupture point. Sharma, M., Nattress, J., Wilhelm, K. & Jovanovic, I. Both . Methods Phys. 10b). Appl. Primary neutrons were emitted isotropically, with initial energy sampled from the well-known spontaneous fission neutron spectrum of \(^{252}\)Cf44. Therefore, as it is not possible at the moment to access a neutron facility with full and accurate description of the irradiation field, the neutron detection efficiency is reported with respect to the EJ-420 (commercial detector) performance, which, according to its producer, exhibits an absolute thermal neutron detection efficiency of 55%. Highly sensitive organic phototransistor for flexible optical detector arrays. The analysis of the signals is performed by following the so-called double integration method or charge comparison method12, in order to separate the thermal neutron induced events from other kinds of events, such as: \(\gamma\)-rays induced events, noise, etc. The LiBO powders obtained using either the Pechini method or the direct synthesis, as described in the experimental section, have been analyzed by High-Resolution X-ray Diffraction (HR-XRD). Sect. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative. Methods Phys. Pino, F. et al. It is constituted by a thin sheet produced by mixing ZnS activated with Ag (ZnS:Ag powder) with \(^{6}\)LiF nano-crystals dispersed in a polysiloxane rubber. The main neutron detection technologies currently used involve 3 He-gas-filled proportional counters 6 and light scintillators 7 for thermalized neutrons. Nucl. Fast neutrons can be an often under-appreciated but significant biological dose from accelerators and nuclear facilities, serve as a way of detecting nuclear materials, and can often yield significant and difficult to control backgrounds in low-rate experiments such as neutrino and dark matter searches. The best performing values were found to be G\(_L\)=1.7\(\upmu\)s and G\(_S\)=0.6\(\upmu\)s for all the detectors. The low solubility of lithium carbonate was exploited to collect the crude product after centrifugation and washing with little water (yield 78%). Sect. In those figures, the cluster of \(\gamma\)-rays, fast and thermal neutrons induced events are clearly recognizable. Cester, D. et al. Study of the thermal neutron detector ZnS(Ag)/LiF response using digital pulse processing. Methods Phys. The presence of \(^{10}\)B in the network instead of natural boron can induce moderate shifts in the peak position, as evidenced in literature37,38. For the production of the scintillators only one method was chosen and direct synthesis was preferred due to its higher yield. Correspondence to The thermal neutron counting rate of each detector has been determined by integrating the light output (\(Q_{total}\)) spectrum (see Fig. 511512, 241249. The several years' studies of liquid scintillators in our laboratory, brought us a knowledge about their efficiency to neutron detection, gamma sensitivity, etc. However, taking into account that the cross-section of neutron capture on \(^{10}\)B is four times the one on \(^{6}\)Li, we expected to observe a higher counting rate. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/15/03/P03030 (2020). In both cases, nanocrystals of LiBO were produced, although in the former method the tri-coordinated boron configuration is privileged over the tetrahedral one, as pointed out by X-ray diffraction and infrared analyses. Nanoparticles-loaded plastic scintillators for fast/thermal neutrons/gamma discrimination: Simulation and results. Nucl. Res. J. Res. Its characteristics make it suitable to be employed in scenarios where non-standard geometries are needed, for example, to optimize the detector performance and/or maximize the detection efficiency. Sect. Several synthesis routes can be pursued to achieve LiBO nanoparticles: the Pechini method has been applied by Khalilzadeh to control the size of the growing crystal during precipitation, using polyvinylpyrrolidone as structure-directing agent24, and very recently this approach has been followed by Frangville25 to produce LiBO loaded plastic scintillator based on polystyrene as a matrix and doped with an extra amount of primary dye to enable the discrimination of fast neutrons and \(\gamma\)-rays. The elpasolite scintillators also enable the precisely dual detection of gamma/neutron signals through pulse height discrimination (PHD) or pulse shape discrimination (PSD). Natl. Geosci. Powders prepared through the Pechini method or direct thermal synthesis were analyzed for the crystal structure by high resolution-X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD, Panalytical, MRD) . Nucl. 7 it is reported the thermal neutron detector efficiency relative to the EJ-420 detector for each tested scintillator. In the case of Pechini synthesis, the peaks are assigned to an almost pure lithium tetraborate phase, as indexed in the graph (Li\(_2\)B\(_4\)O\(_7\) tetraborate, PDF 00-084-2191), and it is in agreement with previous literature24,25. Figure8 illustrates the path of the daughter products on the polydimethylsiloxane matrix and on a LiBO target, results obtained using the Transmission of Ions in Matter (TRIM)39 simulation. A total of \(4 \times 10^7\) primary neutron events were simulated. CAS 16(11), P11034. Sci Rep 13, 4799 (2023). Simulated paths range on the polydimethylsiloxane matrix and on a LiBO target of the daughter products coming from the \(^{6}\)Li and \(^{10}\)B thermal neutron reaction. Scintillation materials for neutron imaging detectors. The detection efficiency of a neutron detector is a crucial parameter and it should be evaluated with accuracy. Vedelago, J. et al. commercial plastic scintillators (EJ-299 and EJ-276G from Eljen Technology) were wrapped with the LiBO-based scintillator. Prompt fission neutron yields in thermal fission of U 235 and spontaneous fission of Cf 252. Nucl. This statement is also supported by a previous work of our group, in which a scintillation material based on \(^{6}\)LiF nano-crystals, with a higher \(^{6}\)Li content (2.6 mg/\(cm^2\)) and without Boron23, showed a higher thermal neutron detection efficiency relative to EJ-420 (up to 90%). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2004.04.110 (2004). An example of such material is Ce-doped 6-Li glass. A HAMAMATSU R6233 (operated at + 1250 V) was used for the absolute light output measurements and a HAMAMATSU H1949-51 (operated at 1700 V) for the other tests. In such cases, the device can be easily bent to cover a small/large curved surface, resulting in a higher thermal neutron detection efficiency. In the code, the geometrical model of the LiBO-based scintillator consists of a disc of diameter 50 mm and thickness 0.4 mm (average of real samples). A 954, 161346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2018.10.024 (2020). The data acquisition and the parameters of the readout electronics were managed using the ABCD (Acquisition and Broadcast of Collected Data) software49,50, released as an open-source project (https://github.com/ec-jrc/abcd), see in Fig. The performance of the six ZnS:Ag/LiBO-based scintillators was tested with a thermal neutron flux at the Van de Graaff accelerator facility at Legnaro National Laboratories, Legnaro-Italy.