Patent ID: 8330115
Filing Date: 2012-12-11
Classification: G01T

Abstract:
1. A scintillation neutron detector system, comprising: at least one neutron detector comprising at least one detector element comprising scintillation material; a photosensor having an optical input and an electrical signal output, the optical input being optically coupled to the scintillation material of the at least one detector element for coupling light photons emitted as one or more light pulses from the scintillation material to the optical input of the photosensor, in response to neutron particles interacting with the scintillation material, and the electrical signal output providing an electrical sensor signal comprising one or more electrical pulses corresponding to the one or more light pulses from the scintillation material; an amplifier sensor circuit having an amplifier signal input, that is electrically coupled to the electrical signal output of the photosensor, and an output, the amplifier sensor circuit being configured to provide at its output an electrical amplifier signal having an optimum electrical signal pulse shape for each of the one or more electrical pulses of the electrical sensor signal; an analog to digital converter having an input electrically coupled to the output of the amplifier sensor circuit, and an output for providing a digital sensor signal corresponding to the electrical amplifier signal; and digital signal processing circuits, having an input electrically coupled to the output of the analog to digital converter, for performing pulse shape differentiation on the digital sensor signal based on one or more neutron signal shape filters and one or more gamma signal shape filters that are applied to the digital sensor signal to reduce, eliminate, or separate gamma pulse signal detection from neutron pulse signal detection by the at least one neutron detector, wherein the at least one neutron detector comprises a plurality of detector elements comprising scintillation material and that are arranged in a plurality of layers with moderator material interposed between individual detector elements of the plurality of detector elements.