Boron-loaded silicone rubber scintillators

Silicone rubber received attention as an alternative to polyvinyltoluene in applications in which the scintillator is exposed to high doses of radiation because of the increased resistance of the rubber to the formation of blue-absorbing color centers. Work by Bowen, et al, and Harmon, et al, demonstrated their properties under gamma/x-ray irradiation, and Bell, et al have shown their response to thermal neutrons. This last work, however, provided an example of a silicone in which both the boron and the scintillator were contained in the rubber as solutes, a formulation which led to the precipitation of solids and sublimation of the boron component. In the present work we describe a scintillator in which the boron is chemically bonded to the siloxane and so avoids the problem of precipitation and loss of boron to sublimation. Material containing up to 18% boron, by weight, was prepared, mounted on photomultipliers, and exposed to both neutron and gamma fluxes. Pulse height spectra showing the neutron and photon response were obtained, and although the light output was found to be much poorer than from samples in which boron was dissolved, the higher boron concentrations enabled essentially 100% neutron absorption in only a few millimeters´ thickness of rubber.