Development of two low-energy neutron detection systems for decay spectroscopy and their current capabilities*

The study of exotic, neutron-rich nuclei is a growing field due to recent advancements in radioactive ion beam facilities where such nuclei can be produced. Further probing the nuclear structure along the neutron drip line, where beta-delayed neutron emission is the dominant decay process, demands that neutron detection devices be developed with the ability and efficiency to measure as low-energy neutrons as possible to capitalize on this discovery potential. These detectors must offer properties such as excellent light yield, neutron-gamma discrimination, and fast timing to measure the neutron spectra with accuracy and precision. To further push the limits in low-energy neutron measurement, two new low-energy neutron detection systems have been recently developed with these requirements in mind: NEXT (Neutron dEtector with multi-neutron (Xn) Tracking) has a large detector volume composed of EJ276 / EJ299 plastic, and utilizes a segmented geometry to improve energy resolution [1,2]. OGS (organic glass scintillator) is an emerging new material [3, 4, 5], and its use in a detector provides enhanced required properties over other plastic scintillators. In this talk, I will share the development process of these two detectors and what they offer for low-energy neutron measurement and detection systems.