Two-dimensional solid state gaseous detector based on $^{10}B$ layer for thermal and cold neutrons

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel two-dimensional solid state gaseous detector utilizing a $^{10}B$ layer for thermal and cold neutron detection, achieving spatial resolution of 2.5 mm and efficiency up to 8%.

Contribution

It introduces a new detector design with resistive charge-division readout for precise neutron position measurement.

Findings

Detector efficiency reaches 8% at 8 Å wavelength.

Background detection efficiency is less than 10^-5 of thermal neutrons.

Spatial resolution is approximately 2.5 mm.

Abstract

Two-dimensional solid state gaseous detector for thermal and cold neutrons is created. The detector has active area of 128 x 128 $mm^2$, $^{10}B$ neutron converter, and gas chamber with thin windows. The resistive charge-division readout is applied to determine the neutron position. The detector was tested using $W-Be$ photoneutron source at the Institute for Nuclear Research, Moscow. The detector efficiency is estimated as ~4% at neutron wavelength $\lambda = 1.82 \AA$ and 8% at $\lambda = 8 \AA$. The efficiency of the background detection was less than $10^{-5}$ of that for thermal neutrons. The resulting pulse height resolution and the spatial resolution are estimated as $\approx 15\%$ and $\approx 2.5 mm$, respectively.