The Monte Carlo code CSSE for the simulation of realistic thermal neutron sensor devices for Humanitarian Demining

The CSSE code, a GEANT3-based Monte Carlo simulation program, has been developed in the framework of the EXPLODET project (Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 422 (1999) 918) with the aim to simulate experimental set-ups employed in Thermal Neutron Analysis (TNA) for the landmines detection. Such a simulation code appears to be useful for studying the background in the γ-ray spectra obtained with this technique, especially in the region where one expects to find the explosive signature (the γ-ray peak at 10.83 MeV coming from neutron capture by nitrogen). The main features of the CSSE code are introduced and original innovations emphasized. Among the latter, an algorithm simulating the time correlation between primary particles, according with their time distributions is presented. Such a correlation is not usually achievable within standard GEANT-based codes and allows to reproduce some important phenomena, as the pulse pile-up inside the NaI(Tl) γ-ray detector employed, producing a more realistic detector response simulation. CSSE has been successfully tested by reproducing a real nuclear sensor prototype assembled at the Physics Department of Bari University.