Study of light output and response function of liquid organic scintillator for high-energy neutron spectrometry

In order to investigate the relationship between kinetic energy of charged particles and light output of liquid organic scintillator, response functions for proton, deuteron, triton, ³He nucleus and alpha particle have been measured at heavy-ion medical accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) of National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS). The charged particles were generated by 400 MeV/u C ion bombardment with a thick graphite target. Kinetic energies were determined by time-of-flight (TOF) technique. Energy loss during their flight was calculated by PHITS code and taken into account at energy-correction. Light output for proton was also measured using mono-energy proton beam of 100 and 160 MeV supplied by accelerator. Kinetic energy of proton beam was changed by inserting Al plates onto beam axis as an energy absorber. The experimental results gave a new database of light output.