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- Birch, Jens, et al.
(författare)
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(B4C)-B-10 Multi-Grid as an Alternative to He-3 for Large Area Neutron Detectors
- 2013
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Ingår i: IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. - 0018-9499 .- 1558-1578. ; 60:2, s. 871-878
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite its present shortage, He-3 continues to be the most common neutron converter for detectors in neutron scattering science. However, it is obvious that the development of large area neutron detectors based on alternative neutron converters is rapidly becoming a matter of urgency. In the technique presented here, grids each comprising 28 (B4C)-B-10 layers ( each 1 mu m thick) are used to convert neutrons into ionizing particles which are subsequently detected in proportional gas counters. The total active area of the prototype is 8 cm x 200 cm. To instrument this detector 4.6 m(2) of B-10-enriched boron carbide were coated onto aluminium blades using a DC magnetron sputtering machine. Characterization of the prototype showed neutron efficiency to be epsilon(n) = 46.8% for 2.5 angstrom neutrons, which is in line with expectations from MC simulation. This result demonstrates the potential of this technique as alternative to He-3-based position sensitive detectors.
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| 3. |
- Birch, Jens, et al.
(författare)
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In-beam test of the Boron-10 Multi-Grid neutron detector at the IN6 time-of-flight spectrometer at the ILL
- 2014
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Ingår i: INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON NEUTRON OPTICS AND DETECTORS (NOPandD 2013). - : IOP Publishing: Conference Series / Institute of Physics (IoP).
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A neutron detector concept based on solid layers of boron carbide enriched in 1 B has been in development for the last few years as an alternative for He-3 by collaboration between the ILL, ESS and Linkoping University. This Multi-Grid detector uses layers of aluminum substrates coated with (B4C)-B-10 on both sides that are traversed by the incoming neutrons. Detection is achieved using a gas counter readout principle. By segmenting the substrate and using multiple anode wires, the detector is made inherently position sensitive. This development is aimed primarily at neutron scattering instruments with large detector areas, such as time-of-flight chopper spectrometers. The most recent prototype has been built to be interchangeable with the He-3 detectors of IN6 at ILL. The 1 B detector has an active area of 32 x 48 cm(2). It was installed at the IN6 instrument and operated for several weeks, collecting data in parallel with the regularly scheduled experiments, thus providing the first side-by-side comparison with the conventional He-3 detectors. Results include an efficiency comparison, assessment of the in-detector scattering contribution, sensitivity to gamma-rays and the signal-to-noise ratio in time-of-flight spectra. The good expected performance has been confirmed with the exception of an unexpected background count rate. This has been identified as natural alpha activity in aluminum. New convertor substrates are under study to eliminate this source of background.
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- Khaplanov, Anton, et al.
(författare)
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Investigation of gamma-ray sensitivity of neutron detectors based on thin converter films
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Currently, many detector technologies for thermal neutron detection are in development in order to lower the demand for the rare He-3 gas. Gas detectors with solid thin film neutron converters readout by gas proportional counter method have been proposed as an appropriate choice for applications where large area coverage is necessary. In this paper, we investigate the probability for gamma-rays to generate a false count in a neutron measurement. Simulated results are compared to measurement with B-10 thin film prototypes and a He-3 detector. It is demonstrated that equal gamma-ray rejection to that of He-3 tubes is achieved with the new technology. The arguments and results presented here are also applicable to gas detectors with converters other than solid B-10 layers, such as Li-6 layers and (BF3)-B-10 gas.
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| 5. |
- Piscitelli, F., et al.
(författare)
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Study of a high spatial resolution B-10-based thermal neutron detector for application in neutron reflectometry: the Multi-Blade prototype
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although for large area detectors it is crucial to find an alternative to detect thermal neutrons because of the He-3 shortage, this is not the case for small area detectors. Neutron scattering science is still growing its instruments' power and the neutron flux a detector must tolerate is increasing. For small area detectors the main effort is to expand the detectors' performances. At Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) we developed the Multi-Blade detector which wants to increase the spatial resolution of He-3-based detectors for high flux applications. We developed a high spatial resolution prototype suitable for neutron reflectometry instruments. It exploits solid B-10-films employed in a proportional gas chamber. Two prototypes have been constructed at ILL and the results obtained on our monochromatic test beam line are presented here.
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