Study of a nTHGEM-based thermal neutron detector
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摘要
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.
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.
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.
引文
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2 R.T.Kouzes,A.T.Lintereur,and E.R.Siciliano,Nucl.Instrum.Methods A,784:172-175(2015)
3 A.Pietropaolo,F.Murtas,G.Claps et al,Nucl.Instrum.Methods A,729:117-126(2013)
4 H.Ohshita,S Uno,T Otomo et al,Nucl.Instr.Methods A,623:126-128(2010)
5 C.J.Schmidt,M.Klein,Neutron News,17(1):12-15(2006)
6 M.Klein,C.J.Schmidt,Nucl.Instrum.Methods A,628:9-18(2011)
7 Y.G.Xie,J.G.Lu¨,A.W.Zhang et al,Nucl.Instrum.Methods A,729:809-815(2013)
8 J.R.Zhou,Z.J.Sun,B.Liu et al,Chin.Phys.C,35(7):668-674(2011)
9 J.Q.Yan,Y.G.Xie,T.Hu et al,Chin.Phys.C,39(6):066001(2015)
10 Y.F.Wang,Z.J.Sun,J.R.Zhou et al.SCI CHINA PHYSMECH,56:1897-1902(2013)
11 Z.Y.He,J.R.Zhou,Z.J.Sun et al,Chin.Phys.C,38(5):58-61(2013)
12 L.Yang,J.R.Zhou,Z.J.Sun et al,Chin.Phys.C,39(5):056002(2015)