Correction of double-differential neutron emission data for sample-dependent effects

A data correction method was developed to correct double-differential neutron emission data for sample-size effects and the sample-dependent background due to contaminant source neutrons. The latter correction proved to be very important to obtain consistent results. The correction is based on the following: i) Monte Carlo simulation of neutron scattering considering the kinematics and finite experimental geometry, ii) derivation of the energy-angular neutron emission data that provide simulation results consistent with the experimental data, and iii) correction for sample-size effects and the sample-dependent background by, in a unified manner, using the correction factor deduced by the simulation. The present method was applied successfully for a wide range of target masses. The correction procedure, examples of the correction and the effect of the input data on the correction are presented.