Patent ID: 7126148

Claim:
A system for detecting neutron radiation comprising: a liquid cocktail mixture comprised of a neutron absorber dissolved in water with a liquid scintillator, the neutron absorber component selected from the group consisting of LiBF 4 (lithium tetrafluoroborate), LiCl (lithium chloride) and NaBF 4 (sodium tetrafluoroborate), said cocktail mixture housed in a tube having a mirror at one end of the tube and a windowed portal at the other end of the tube such that neutrons that penetrate the tube react with the neutron absorber producing ionization that excites the scintillator and produces photons; a photo-multiplier tube coupled with the windowed portal for receiving the photons and converting the photons to electrical signals; and a processing device for receiving and analyzing the electrical signals so as to provide a measurement pertaining to the presence and relative strength of neutron radiation, wherein the liquid cocktail mixture further comprises a rare earth chelate wavelength shifter for converting light omitted by the scintillator to another wavelength.