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<p>Accurate assessment of proton and neutron fluxes in the lunar surface radiation environment is essential to ensure the safety of astronauts and instruments, while also supporting mission design and risk mitigation. This study evaluates the capability of the Cs<sub>2</sub>LiYCl<sub>6</sub>:Ce (CLYC) detector to detect thermal neutrons and protons, with an emphasis on its possible application for lunar missions. A controlled mixed field of high-energy protons and thermal neutrons, intended to approximate selected aspects of lunar surface irradiation, was generated using the IBA Proteus Plus proton therapy system at the Proton Therapy Center of Hebei Yizhou Cancer Hospital (China). Proton pencil beams with incident energies of 70, 80, 90, and 100&#xa0;MeV were directed onto an aluminum foil to attenuate the proton flux reaching the detector system, while thermal neutrons were generated by proton interaction with a downstream RW3 solid water phantom. The conventional pulse shape discrimination (PSD) method, relying on charge integration via the tail-to-total method, was found to be ineffective in distinguishing between thermal neutrons and protons under the present dynamic range conditions. A novel approach was introduced that leverages the distinctive characteristics of the falling edges in the waveforms of thermal neutrons and protons, providing a time-domain method for discrimination. The present work assesses the advantages and limitations of the CLYC detector for lunar surface radiation measurements and proposes directions for further improvement.</p>

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Feasibility study of thermal neutron/proton detection in a lunar surface-like environment using Cs2LiYCl6:Ce detector

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月16日

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  • Zhen Huang,
  • Chang Cheng,
  • Wei Cheng,
  • Gao-Long Zhang,
  • Nan Li,
  • Xiao-Yu Xu,
  • Wei-Wei Qu

摘要

Accurate assessment of proton and neutron fluxes in the lunar surface radiation environment is essential to ensure the safety of astronauts and instruments, while also supporting mission design and risk mitigation. This study evaluates the capability of the Cs2LiYCl6:Ce (CLYC) detector to detect thermal neutrons and protons, with an emphasis on its possible application for lunar missions. A controlled mixed field of high-energy protons and thermal neutrons, intended to approximate selected aspects of lunar surface irradiation, was generated using the IBA Proteus Plus proton therapy system at the Proton Therapy Center of Hebei Yizhou Cancer Hospital (China). Proton pencil beams with incident energies of 70, 80, 90, and 100 MeV were directed onto an aluminum foil to attenuate the proton flux reaching the detector system, while thermal neutrons were generated by proton interaction with a downstream RW3 solid water phantom. The conventional pulse shape discrimination (PSD) method, relying on charge integration via the tail-to-total method, was found to be ineffective in distinguishing between thermal neutrons and protons under the present dynamic range conditions. A novel approach was introduced that leverages the distinctive characteristics of the falling edges in the waveforms of thermal neutrons and protons, providing a time-domain method for discrimination. The present work assesses the advantages and limitations of the CLYC detector for lunar surface radiation measurements and proposes directions for further improvement.