COMPARATIVE-STUDIES OF THE RESPONSE OF BD-100R BUBBLE AND CR-39 BASEDNEUTRON DETECTORS FOR PERSONNEL NEUTRON DOSIMETRY

A breakthrough occurred in neutron dosimetry in 1978 and 1979 when the track recording properties of CR-39 and superheated drop detectors we re reported. A related superheated detector, the so-called bubble dete ctor was reported in 1984 and is now commercially available as BD-100R . Both BD-100R and CR-39 based cubical detectors have been used in a v ariety of monitoring applications around nuclear reactors, fusion sour ces, etc. The responses of BD-100R and CR-39 based cubical neutron dos emeters have been studied and compared in free air and on a water phan tom for personnel neutron dosimetry purposes. All the detectors were i rradiated with monoenergetic neutrons having energies from 0.144 MeV t o 14.6 MeV as well as portable neutron sources including a heavy water moderated Cf-252 neutron source. After irradiation, CR-39 detectors w ere etched chemically for 6 h in 6M NaOH at 70-degrees-C followed by 3 h electrochemical etching in the same etchant at 60-degrees-C applyin g 50 kV.cm 1 peak-to-peak at a frequency of 2 kHz. Results indicate th at despite possessing some promising properties, the BD-100R detector cannot replace CR-39 based personnel neutron dosemeters but they can c omplement each other.