Two-dimensional position sensitive neutron detector

Pramana - A two-dimensional position sensitive neutron detector has been developed. The detector is a3He + Kr filled multiwire proportional counter with charge division position readout and has a...     

Performance studies on high pressure 1-D position sensitive neutron detectors

The powder diffractometer and Hi-Q diffractometer at Dhruva reactor make use of five identical 1-D position sensitive detectors (PSDs) to scan scattering angles in the range 3° to 140°. In order to improve the overall throughput of these spectrometers, it is planned to install a bank of 15 high-efficiency and high-resolution PSDs arranged in three layers with five PSDs in each layer. With each high pressure PSD (³He 10 bar + Kr 2 bar) showing the efficiency gain of 1.8 at 1.2 Å, detector bank is expected to show overall gain of 5.5 times the present detection efficiency and reduction in data collection time by equivalent factor. The 1-D PSDs are developed in batches of five, and are characterized so that all PSDs operate at uniform parameters such as position resolution, uniformity of efficiency and linearity of response. Position spectrum indicates the differential position resolution to be ～1 mm and integral position resolution to be 3–4 mm. Broadening of position spectrum at the extreme end of sensitive length of PSD is analysed using fine shift of the beam. Dependence of position resolution and dynamic range of output pulse on the input impedance of pre-amplifier is also presented.     

Design and performance of a 2-D multi-wire position sensitive X-ray detector

A 2-D multi-wire position sensitive detector for X-ray diffraction and small angle X-ray scattering studies is described. The detector has an active area of 100 mm × 100 mm and consists of an anode plane with 10 μm SS wires at 3 mm spacing and a pair of orthogonal cathode readout planes with 25 μm SS wires placed at 1.5 mm spacing. The position information is obtained using charge division method and recorded using a laboratory built data acquisition system. The resolution and gas gain was measured for 5.9 keV X-rays (⁵⁵Fe-source) as a function of the anode wire voltage and gas pressure. It was observed that the proportional region of the PSD at 100 kPa pressure extended up to a high voltage value of around 1.5 kV and it shifted to high values up to 2 kV for gas pressure of 300 kPa. The energy resolution improved from 18% (FWHM) to 12% with increase in pressure. The spatial resolution of the PSD also showed improvement, with a value of 1.2 mm × 1.4 mm at 300 kPa gas pressure. A maximum gain of 5 × 10⁴ is obtained.     

Neutron detectors for scattering experiments at HANARO

Position sensitive detectors (PSD) measure the distribution of scattered neutrons and are essential tools for neutron scattering experiments. Various types of neutron detectors used at neutron diffractometers are conventional tube detectors, 1-D and 2-D PSDs. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has been developing various kinds of PSDs to improve the instrument performance and to develop new scattering instruments. Our development work is initiated with 1-D PSD for residual stress analysis spectrometer and finally the technology is extended to development of 2-D PSD with planar and curved geometry. All PSDs are based on multiwire grid assembly with delay line readout method for position encoding, as the response is faster than charge division method and enables higher count rate capability. Design details and operational characteristics of some of the PSDs developed, for application at neutron scattering instruments are presented.      

Development of neutron detectors and neutron radiography at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

Design and development of neutron detectors and R&D work in neutron radiography (NR) for non-destructive evaluation are important parts of the neutron beam and allied research programme of Solid State Physics Division (SSPD) of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The detectors fabricated in the division not only meet the in-house requirement of neutron spectrometers but also the need of other divisions in BARC, Department of Atomic Energy units and some universities and research institutes in India and abroad for a variety of applications. The NR facility set up by SSPD at Apsara reactor has been used for a variety of applications in nuclear, aerospace, defense and metallurgical industries. The work done in the development of neutron detectors and neutron radiography is reported in this article.      

Modern trends in the development of position sensitive neutron detectors for condensed matter research

Different types of neutron scattering experiment for the study of condensed matter properties pose specific and often contradictory requirements for detector characteristics. There is no single type of detector which satisfies all the criteria. Therefore, compromise is inevitable and some of the characteristics are trade off in favour of others. Present report gives an overview of detector systems presently operating at the leading neutron scattering facilities as well as some development work around the globe.      

Effect of adding Ar gas on the pulse height distribution of BF<Subscript>3</Subscript>-filled neutron detectors

Boron trifluoride (BF₃) proportional counters are used as detectors for thermal neutrons. They are characterized by high neutron sensitivity and good gamma discriminating properties. Most practical BF₃ counters are filled with pure boron trifluoride gas enriched up to 96% ¹⁰B. But BF₃ is not an ideal proportional counter gas. Worsening of plateau characteristics is observed with increasing radius due to impurities in gas. To overcome this problem, counters are filled with BF₃ with an admixture of a more suitable gas such as argon. The dilution of BF₃ with argon causes a decrease in detection efficiency, but the pulse height spectrum shows sharper peaks and more stable plateau characteristics than counters filled with pure BF₃. The present investigations are undertaken to study the pulse height distribution and other important factors in BF₃+Ar filled signal counters for neutron beam applications. Tests are performed with detectors with cylindrical geometry filled with BF₃ gas enriched in ¹⁰B to 90%, and high purity Ar in different proportions. By analysing pulse height spectra, a value of 6.1 ± 0.2 has been obtained for the branching ratio of the ¹⁰B(n,α) reaction.      

National facility for neutron beam research

In this talk, the growth of neutron beam research (NBR) in India over the past five decades is traced beginning with research at Apsara. A range of problems in condensed matter physics could be studied at CIRUS, followed by sophisticated indegenous instrumentation and research at Dhruva. The talk ends with an overview of current scenario of NBR world-wide and future of Indian activities.     

Prototype of a large neutron detector based on MWPC

A prototype of large-area position sensitive neutron detector was designed and constructed according to the requirements of the Small-Angle Scattering spectrometer of China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS).The detector was based on the 3He neutron convertor and MWPC with an effective area of 650 mm×650 mm.A prototype was completed and tested with 55Fe X-ray.The high-pressure vessel was designed and constructed with high-strength aluminum alloy.A position resolution of about 4.6mm×2.3 mm(FWHM)and efficiency65%for neutrons with wavelength of 1.8?was determined after the operational gas filled.     

Application of artificial neural networks for unfolding neutron spectra by using a scintillation detector

The unfolding of neutron spectra from the pulse height distribution measured by a BC501A scintillation detector is accomplished by the application of artificial neural networks (ANN). A simple linear neural network without biases and hidden layers is adopted. A set of monoenergetic detector response functions in the energy range from 0.25 MeV to 16 MeV with an energy interval of 0.25 MeV are generated by the Monte Carlo code O5S in the training phase of the unfolding process. The capability of ANN was demon...     

Spatial modulation of a neutron beam by Larmor precession

We modulated the intensity of a neutron beam using Larmor precession techniques. We simulated triangular coils by using magnetised foils in electromagnets with rectangular pole shoes. Reversing the orientation of two of the magnetised foils in the spin-echo small-angle neutron scattering (SESANS)-instrument in Delft and changing the field settings was sufficient to obtain a modulation with a period in the order of 1 mm. We expect to be able to go to a modulation with a period of .This technique can be used to measure small-angle neutron scattering, analogous to the method used in SESANS, but with the advantage that all the manipulation of the neutron spin occurs before the sample. This means that the technique is insensitive to magnetic perturbations at the sample position. By positioning several of these devices after each other it will be possible to obtain a sharper modulation, or a modulation in two directions.     

2维位置灵敏中子探测器读出

介绍了基于厚型气体电子倍增探测器(THGEM)的位置灵敏热中子探测器中,采用专用集成电路的阵列电荷灵敏前置放大和可编程器件的读出电子学设计。专用集成电路采用VA64TA2,64通道输入电荷灵敏放大成型,触发输出。控制电路使用了现场可编程器件。两者结合,显著减少了读出电路在探测器内所占据的空间。介绍了VA64TA2裸片的封装,给出了电路的原理和时序,进行了线性和电子学噪声试验,结果表明电路具有16 fC的线性动态范围,电子学噪声仅为75个电子电荷。     

沟槽型硅微结构中子探测器的蒙特卡罗模拟研究

采用蒙特卡罗模拟方法研究了微结构参数、填充致密度等因素对沟槽型微结构半导体中子探测器（MSND）性能的影响规律,并开展了沟槽型MSND的优化设计研究。研究表明,随着沟槽间距的增加,MSND的探测效率呈下降趋势;当沟槽间距固定时,存在最优的沟槽宽度使得探测效率最大化;沟槽深度越大,探测效率越高。沟槽宽度和沟槽间距为15 m和5 m是一对优化的参数组合,可保证较高的探测效率和较平稳的系统甄别阈-探测效率曲线。当系统甄别阈取300 keV时,沟槽宽度、间距和深度分别为15,5 m和200 m时的MSND热中子本征探测效率可达37.77%,与平面探测器相比提高了9.2倍;对137Cs源662 keV伽马射线的中子-伽马射线甄别比可达4.1103,与平面探测器相比提高了23.7倍。本工作从理论上证明了MSND可解决传统平面型半导体中子探测器探测效率低的难题,同时可保持半导体探测器中子-伽马射线甄别容易的特点。     

Study of a nTHGEM-based thermal neutron detector

With new generation neutron sources, traditional neutron detectors cannot satisfy the demands of the applications, especially under high flux. Furthermore, facing the global crisis in ~3He gas supply, research on new types of neutron detector as an alternative to ~3He is a research hotspot in the field of particle detection. GEM(Gaseous Electron Multiplier) neutron detectors have high counting rate, good spatial and time resolution, and could be one future direction of the development of neutron detectors. In this paper, the physical process of neutron detection is simulated with Geant 4 code, studying the relations between thermal conversion efficiency, boron thickness and number of boron layers. Due to the special characteristics of neutron detection, we have developed a novel type of special ceramic n THGEM(neutron THick GEM) for neutron detection. The performance of the n THGEM working in different Ar/CO_2 mixtures is presented, including measurements of the gain and the count rate plateau using a copper target X-ray source. A detector with a single n THGEM has been tested for 2-D imaging using a ~(252)Cf neutron source. The key parameters of the performance of the n THGEM detector have been obtained, providing necessary experimental data as a reference for further research on this detector.     

Characteristics of a neutron moisture gauge with a solid state detector

The development of a neutron moisture gauge, using Cf²⁵² as a source of fast neutrons and muscovite as a detector of thermal-neutron-induced-fission in Pu²³⁹ target, is reported. The laboratory and the field calibrations of the instrument reveal a linear relation between track count rate and the moisture volume fraction. Low cost, low weight, simplicity of operation, thermal stability and elimination of electronic gadgets and power supplies are the attractive features of this instrument. The main drawback is its poor detection efficiency for thermal neutrons and the consequent unsuitability as a routine logging instrument. Its special features make it particularly suited to deep bore hole logging such as in oil exploration.     

利用中子散射探索生命世界中的物理奥秘

中子散射是利用入射中子与原子核发生碰撞以后中子动量与能量的改变来研究微观世界的一种技术。由于中子对氢原子的散射截面远大于其他元素的独特属性,使得中子散射在研究包含大量氢元素的生物大分子的结构以及动力学特性方面都有卓越的应用。文章对中子散射在生物方面的应用进行了探讨,重点介绍了中子衍射、结合衬度变换技术的小角中子散射、准弹性/非弹性中子散射和中子自旋回波技术,以及它们在研究生物大分子结构、动力学及其功能方面的应用。最后对中子散射未来在生命科学中探索新的物理现象进行了探讨和展望。     

用于n,γ混合场的新型脉冲中子探测器研究

新型脉冲中子探测器采用特殊工艺将两个PIN半导体组合而成.利用脉冲γ辐射研究了探测器对γ的响应；利用脉冲中子源研究了探测器对DT中了的响应，并与闪烁探测器进行了比较 .结果表明：脉冲中子探测器对脉冲γ辐射基本不灵敏，对脉冲中子辐射的灵敏程度依赖于中子辐射体，是一种用于n，γ混合脉冲辐射场中子测量的新型探测器. 关键词： 硅半导体 差分补偿 脉冲中子探测器 n γ混合场     

散裂中子源靶站谱仪的物理设计

中子散射广泛地应用于凝聚态物质研究和应用的众多学科领域,是研究物质微观结构和动态的理想工具之一.散裂中子源能是新一代的加速器基脉冲中子源,能为中子散射提供高通量的脉冲中子.文章重点介绍了散裂中子源项目CSNS中靶站和谱仪的建设内容和设计工作的进展.     

中子散射在磁性材料研究中的应用

中子具有天然磁矩,穿透能力强且对轻元素敏感等独特的优势,是目前研究材料中磁结构最有力的工具。发展中子散射技术对开发新型磁性材料和研究磁性物理机理等方面具有重大意义。文章介绍了几种常用的中子散射技术(如粉末衍射、小角散射、反射等),并通过典型的实例来说明它们在磁性材料研究中的具体应用。针对国内介绍中子反射技术的资料相对较少,尤其是极化中子反射技术在精确定量表征薄膜磁性大小和分布方面的研究极度匮乏的现状,文章重点介绍了这一特色技术以及应用实例。