A precise method to determine the activity of a weak neutron source using a germanium detector.

A standard high purity germanium (HPGe) detector was used to determine the previously unknown neutron activity of a weak americium-beryllium (AmBe) neutron source. γ rays were created through (27)Al(n,n'), (27)Al(n,γ) and (1)H(n,γ) reactions induced by the neutrons on aluminum and acrylic disks, respectively. These γ rays were measured using the HPGe detector. Given the unorthodox experimental arrangement, a Monte Carlo simulation was developed to model the efficiency of the detector system to determine the neutron activity from the measured γ rays. The activity of our neutron source was determined to be 307.4±5.0n/s and is consistent for the different neutron-induced γ rays.