Design of a fast neutron coincidence counter

Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to simulate the response of a boron-loaded plastic scintillator array. These detectors offer potential advantages compared to moderated 3He systems because of their fast response and high efficiency. Tallies were made of neutron capture probability as a function of time and the results were coupled to assay variance estimates to evaluate detector performance. Orders-of-magnitude reductions in count time relative to a 50% efficient thermal counter are possible, in principle, for high (α,n) samples.