Silver-lined proportional counter for detection of pulsed neutrons

A silver-lined proportional counter is developed for pulsed neutron monitoring near the electron accelerator INDUS-I at CAT, Indore. The device was developed since neutron flux meters with boron counters showed poor response to pulsed neutron background. The detector has 110 mm length and its inner diameter (26 mm) is lined with silver foil of 0.025 cm thickness. Tests in a thermal neutron flux of 150 nv show that it has 0.2 cps/nv neutron sensitivity. Tests at Plasma Focus Device facility with single neutron pulse (pulse width 50 ns) showed that the counter has 1.2×106 neutron/pulse counts sensitivity. Tests at INDUS-I electron accelerator facility in multiple neutron pulses (pulse width 1 μs and 1 Hz repetition rate) showed that the neutron flux estimated by the counter is comparable to the flux measured by passive CR-39 foils. The counter has potential application to detect neutron pulses of high intensity that occur within the shielded areas of electron accelerators during partial or total beam loss.