Performance characteristics of scintillators for use in an electronic neutron imaging system for neutron radiography

The response of several different scintillator screens to beams of slow neutrons has been investigated using charge-coupled device (CCD)-based and nuvicon imaging systems. The goal of the effort has been to design and develop an electronic neutron imager compatible for use with a neutron radiography system driven by an accelerator that generates intensities of approximate to 10(6) neutrons cm(-2)s(-1). The experimental results demonstrated that the LiF/ZnS class of scintillators used with a CCD camera could provide near-real-time images with a dynamic range (i.e., a functional span of optical intensities) of greater than or equal to 10(3) and spatial resolution of 2.5 line pairs mm(-1). Full details of the experimental arrangements are presented, along with discussions of the scintillator properties, the results of their use in thermal neutron beams, and an assessment of the performance characteristics of the various imaging techniques that were employed. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.