Response of a Liquid Scintillator to Fast Neutrons and γ Radiation

The response of a commercially available liquid scintillator to D(d,n)He3 neutrons and to γ radiation from several standard sources has been measured. It is found that the pulse height response to γ-ray energy is linear in the energy range 0.5 to 2.6 Mev, and that the fast neutron detection efficiency of a disk scintillator 5 cm thick is about 30% in the neutron energy range 2 to 3.5 Mev, and varies with neutron energy E as ξ(E)=0.146+0.45/E+0.82,where E is measured in Mev.