Measurement and simulation of the neutron response and detection efficiency of a Pb-scintillating fiber calorimeter

The overall detection efficiency to neutrons of a small prototype of the KLOE Pb-scintillating fiber calorimeter has been measured at the neutron beam facility of The Svedberg Laboratory, TSL, Uppsala, in the kinetic energy range 5–175 MeV. The measurement of the neutron detection efficiency of a NE110 scintillator provided a reference calibration. At the lowest trigger threshold, the overall calorimeter efficiency ranges from 40% to 50%. This value largely exceeds the estimated 8–16% expected if the response were proportional only to the scintillator equivalent thickness. A detailed simulation of the calorimeter and of the TSL beamline has been performed with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. The simulated response of the detector to neutrons is presented, as well as a first data-Monte Carlo comparison. The results show an overall neutron efficiency of about 50%, when no trigger threshold is applied. The reasons of such an efficiency enhancement, in comparison with the typical scintillator-based neutron counters, are explained, opening the road to a novel neutron detector.