# Performance tests of boron-coated straw detectors with thermal and cold neutron beams

## TL;DR

This paper evaluates boron-coated straw detectors for thermal and cold neutron detection, demonstrating they match or surpass traditional 3He detectors in efficiency, resolution, and noise performance, suitable for scientific applications.

## Contribution

It introduces and benchmarks a new boron-coated straw detector technology against industry-standard 3He detectors in neutron detection performance.

## Key findings

- BCS detectors achieve near theoretical detection efficiency.
- BCS perform comparably to 3He tubes in signal-to-noise ratio and timing.
- BCS have superior longitudinal spatial resolution.

## Abstract

Prototypes of newly developed boron-coated straw (BCS) detectors have been tested in the thermal and cold neutron energy ranges. Their neutron detection performance has been benchmarked against the industry standard (detector tubes filled with 3He gas). The tests show that the BCS straws perform near their theoretical limit regarding the detection efficiency, which is adequate for scientific instruments in the cold neutron energy range. The BCS detectors perform on par with 3He tubes in terms of signal to noise and timing resolution, and superior regarding longitudinal spatial resolution.