Fast neutron dose evaluation using CR39 by coincidence counting process

The solid state nuclear tracks detection (SSNTD) technique is widely used in the area of radiation dosimetry. Different materials can be used applying this technique as glass and the most used in the dosimetry field that are the polycarbonates, CR39 and Makrofol-DE. Both are very rich in hydrogenous, that enables the SSNTD to detect fast neutrons through recoils of protons in the own detector material, without need of converters. The low reproducibility of its backgroundhas often been the major drawback in the assessment of low fluences of fast neutrons with SSNTDs. This problem can be effectively solved by counting coincidence of tracks in two detectors foils irradiated in close contact. After processing and counting only tracks produced by the same recoil nuclei on the surfaces of both detectors are considered as a track. This procedure enables the reduction of the background counts in the response of the detectors. In this work a preliminary study on the application of the coincidence technique for neutron dosimetry is presented. The CR39 material was investigated aiming to achieve the personal dose equivalent for fast neutrons. Using this method of analysis a significant reduction on the lower detectable dose was observed resulting even one order of magnitude smaller value. Reading, however, needs to be automated due to the large areas necessary to achieve a satisfactory number of tracks for statistical significance of results.