High-energy Neutron Dosimetry with Superheated Drop Detectors

A systematic analysis of the response of dichlorodifluoromethane superheated drop detectors was performed in the 46-133 MeV energy range. Experiments with quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams were performed at the Universite Catholique de Leuvain-la-Neuve, Belgium and the Svedberg Laboratory, Sweden, while tests in a broad field were performed at CERN. To determine the response of the detectors to the high-energy beams, the spectra of incident neutrons were folded over functions modelled after the cross sections for the production of heavy ions from the detector elements. The cross sections for fluorine and chlorine were produced in this work by means of the Monte Carlo high-energy transport code HADRON based on the cascade exciton model of nuclear interactions. The new response data permit the interpretation of measurements at high-energy accelerators and on high-altitude commercial flights, where a 30-50% under-response had been consistently recorded with respect to neutron dose equivalent. The introduction of a 1 cm lead shell around the detectors effectively compensates most of the response defect.