Advanced Scintillating Fiber Technology in High Energy Neutron Spectrometers for Exploration

High energy neutron spectrometers are being developed to measure the energy spectrum of neutrons, which are a component of the space radiation environment. Energetic neutrons are harmful to space systems and space crews in unique ways. To quantify these harmful effects it is necessary to identify the neutron component in the space radiation environment and measure its energy spectrum. The key to this measurement is identifying the neutron. We will develop new scintillating optical fiber technology that greatly improves the identification of neutron-capture signals over the current state-of-the-art. These fibers will be embedded in a large plastic scintillator to create a neutron detector. This detector will be tested in a simulated spacecraft radiation environment to demonstrate the performance of these fibers as neutron identifiers.

This project is developing cew scintillating optical fiber technology that greatly improves the identification of neutron-capture signals over the current state-of-the-art.

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