Resistive plate chamber neutron and gamma sensitivity measurement with a 252Cf source

A bakelite double gap Resistive Plate Chamber (R-PC), operating in avalanche mode, has been exposed to the radiation emitted from a Cf-252 source to measure its neutron and gamma sensitivity. One of the two gaps underwent the traditional electrodes surface coating with linseed oil. RPC signals were triggered by fission events detected using BaF2 scintillators. A Monte Carlo code, inside the GEANT 3.21 framework with MICAP interface, has been used to identify the gamma and neutron contributions to the total number of collected RPC signals. A neutron sensitivity of (0.63 +/- 0.02) x 10(-3) (average energy 2 MeV) and a gamma sensitivity of (14.0 +/- 0.5) x 10(-3) (average energy 1.5 MeV) have been measured in double gap mode. Measurements done in single gap mode have shown that both neutron and gamma sensitivity are independent of the oiling treatment. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.