SUPERHEATED-DROP (BUBBLE) NEUTRON DETECTORS AND THEIR COMPLIANCE WITH ICRP-60

Several devices based on superheated-drop detector technology have become available almost simultaneously with the release of new ICRP and ICRU publications. Given this circumstance, a study of the characteristics of the system has been undertaken by the authors considering the revised recommendations for neutron dosimetry. The dose equivalent response in free air has been examined experimentally as a function of energy from thermal up to 70 MeV neutrons, and its dependence on the angle of incidence has been tested on a phantom at 0.57 MeV. Some results are discussed with respect to lower limit of detection, temperature sensitivity, gamma discrimination, batch-to-batch uniformity, and reproducibility. Some conclusions in terms of advantages, limitations and possible applications of the system are presented.