Demonstration of a directional fast neutron detector

A detector array consisting of 8 photomultiplier tubes equipped with liquid organic scintillators and arranged in two planes has been demonstrated to be capable of detecting both neutrons and gamma rays and distinguishing them by time-of-flight. Moreover, the neutron double-scatter events can be analyzed to determine both the energy spectrum and the probable direction to the source. This information can help to improve the capability to distinguish a localized man-made isotopic source of neutrons from natural background events generated ubiquitously by cosmic rays. The system was constructed using mostly commercial off-the-shelf components, and the analysis is performed with some customized software algorithms