RESUMO
This paper reports on a tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) based on a triple gas electron multiplier structure, with a single pad readout, as a basis for a personal neutron dosimeter. Its dosimetric response was studied using the 252Cf neutron source at the Health Physics Generator Facility of the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. Measured lineal energy spectra were found to be in agreement with numerical simulations performed with Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX). Both simulations and measurements showed that the mean pathlength of secondary charged particles in the TEPC gas was best represented by the thickness of the drift region of the device. It was determined that the Cauchy Theorem, used to calculate the mean chord length in spherical and cylindrical TEPCs, overestimated the simulated mean chord length by nearly a factor of two. Important operational characteristics of the device were investigated, including gas gain, sensitivity and dosimetric response, as functions of tissue-equivalent gas pressure. This work demonstrates that the proposed design can serve as the basis for a personal neutron dosimeter device, which would satisfy the angular dosimetric response criteria of the personal dosimeter standard IEC61526.
