A method to calibrate the n-γ discrimination property of scintillators in low energy region

Scintillators with n-γ discrimination property are widely used in the measurement of neutrons. In sub MeV region, the n-γ discrimination property will be greatly deteriorated so that the neutron and γ-ray events can't be accurately discriminated. As a result, the determination of the proportions of neutron and γ-ray events beyond the discrimination threshold is important if scintillators are applied to measure the low energy neutrons. In the present work, a method based on the time-of-flight technique is proposed to calibrate the proportions of neutron and γ-ray events beyond the discrimination threshold. After the calibration, the numbers of the measured neutron and γ-ray events can be separately determined even if the neutron and γ-ray events can't be perfectly discriminated.