TESTING THE TEMPERATURE COMPENSATED BD-PND BUBBLE DETECTOR

The first results are presented of a study of the BD-PND bubble detect or. A large batch of these neutron detectors was tested for their main characteristics by irradiation with a Cf-252 source. This included an investigation on the reproducibility, the batch uniformity of the res ults and linearity with dose equivalent. The change in sensitivity aft er activation of the detector is another parameter investigated. Over a large temperature range (14 to 47 degrees C) the extent to which the BD-PND bubble detectors are really temperature independent was invest igated. Probably due to a limited lifetime of the temperature compensa tion, a progressive rise of sensitivity with temperature was found. Ch ecks were also made for any change in sensitivity during the lifetime of the detectors and a few parameters that could influence this sensit ivity were studied.