Design of a Hybrid Antineutrino Detector Using Scintillation and Wavelength-Shifting Materials

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
2011–12

Sensitive monitoring of antineutrino flux from nuclear power plants documents the consumption of fissile materials, thereby enhancing nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation.¬† In the team‘s newly designed hybrid scintillation detector, energy depositions from prompt gamma rays and delayed neutron capture events provide an unambiguous signal for antineutrino detection.¬† Dual scintillation materials are used with wavelength-shifting plastics to direct light to photomultiplier tubes most efficiently.¬† Material characterization tests and Monte Carlo simulations were used to optimize the design of the detector.

Advisor(s): James C. Eckert, Richard Campbell Haskell, and Adrian Hightower.

Team: Christopher (Chris) D. Cotner ’13, Rebecca Nicole Streitz ’13, Carlo Vaccari ’13, Brianna R. Blanchard ’12, Karen Naja Heinselman ’12, Wylie N. Rosenthal ’12, and Ethan Michael Susca ’12.