Intrinsic Efficiencies of Scintillation Detectors for Nuclear Nonproliferation Applications

Standard liquid organic scintillation detectors are commonly used in applications due to their ability to detect and discriminate between neutrons and gamma rays. Additionally, the dual pulse signal of capture-gated organic detectors makes them promising candidates in applications requiring the detection of special nuclear materials. Specifically, accurately performing neutron spectroscopy is an application of significant development. In this paper, we provide a consistent comparison of organic scintillation detectors found in current nuclear nonproliferation research. Monte Carlo simulations are used to characterize five detectors in terms of their intrinsic efficiency. This research aids current research in areas including nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation.