Pulse shape discrimination in helium-4 scintillation detectors
We investigated three algorithms for discriminating between neutrons and gamma rays in a pres-surized 4 He gas fast neutron detector: charge comparison, weighted integration, and neutron-gamma model analysis (NGMA). And for each algorithm, a comprehensive pulse shape discrimination study was conducted using time-of-flight measurements, receiver operator characteristic curves, figure of merit performance measures, and a comparison of performance between 252 Cf and PuBe mixed neutron/gamma sources. The NGMA method was found to have the best overall performance by both the figure of merit and the receiver operator characteristic curve. Our results also illustrated the high gamma rejection efficiency of these detectors, which is desirable in a variety of neutron monitoring applications.