High-efficiency microstructured semiconductor neutron detectors for direct 3He replacement

Fronk, Ryan G.; Bellinger, Steven L.; Henson, Luke C.; Huddleston, David E.; Ochs, Taylor R.; Sobering, Timothy J.; McGregor, Douglas S.

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2015.01.041

Cited by 26 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This yielded an intrinsic efficiency of ε sys = 0.07, which compares well to literature values for 3 He detectors [ 27 , 28 ]. However, the system geometry (Fig.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Microfabrication of a gadolinium-derived solid-state sensor for thermal neutrons

Pfeifer

Achyuthan

Allen

et al. 2017

Journal of Radiation Research

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Neutron sensing is critical in civilian and military applications. Conventional neutron sensors are limited by size, weight, cost, portability and helium supply. Here the microfabrication of gadolinium (Gd) conversion material–based heterojunction diodes for detecting thermal neutrons using electrical signals produced by internal conversion electrons (ICEs) is described. Films with negligible stress were produced at the tensile-compressive crossover point, enabling Gd coatings of any desired thickness by controlling the radiofrequency sputtering power and using the zero-point near p(Ar) of 50 mTorr at 100 W. Post-deposition Gd oxidation–induced spallation was eliminated by growing a residual stress-free 50 nm neodymium-doped aluminum cap layer atop Gd. The resultant coatings were stable for at least 6 years, demonstrating excellent stability and product shelf-life. Depositing Gd directly on the diode surface eliminated the air gap, leading to a 200-fold increase in electron capture efficiency and facilitating monolithic microfabrication. The conversion electron spectrum was dominated by ICEs with energies of 72, 132 and 174 keV. Results are reported for neutron reflection and moderation by polyethylene for enhanced sensitivity, and γ- and X-ray elimination for improved specificity. The optimal Gd thickness was 10.4 μm for a 300 μm-thick partially depleted diode of 300 mm2 active surface area. Fast detection (within 10 min) at a neutron source-to-diode distance of 11.7 cm was achieved with this configuration. All ICE energies along with γ-ray and Kα,β X-rays were modeled to emphasize correlations between experiment and theory. Semi-conductor thermal neutron detectors offer advantages for field-sensing of radioactive neutron sources.

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“…This yielded an intrinsic efficiency of ε sys = 0.07, which compares well to literature values for 3 He detectors [ 27 , 28 ]. However, the system geometry (Fig.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Microfabrication of a gadolinium-derived solid-state sensor for thermal neutrons

Pfeifer

Achyuthan

Allen

et al. 2017

Journal of Radiation Research

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“…The semiconductor technologies currently under development for nuclear safeguards typically involve small subsystems of several individual detectors in the form of planar or cylindrical arrangements to represent a full-scale single detector module. The present report is focused on technologies discussed and presented within the scope of the 3 He alternatives workshop series, however, several other developments involving semiconductor technologies are currently being pursued, the details of which can be found in the following references [Fronk 2015, Mandal 2014].…”

Section: Semiconductor Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Status of Helium-3 Alternative Technologies for Nuclear Safeguards

Henzlová

Kouzes

McElroy

et al. 2015

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“…T HE 3 He proportional counters have been widely used for neutron detector in the past decades [1], and however, its application in the field of neutron detection has been limited in recent years due to the decreasing storage and increasing cost of 3 He gas [2]. Semiconductor neutron detectors are the most promising alternative to 3 He proportional counters due to their lower fabrication cost, compact size, lower operational volt- age, excellent neutron-gamma discrimination, and fast charge collection [3], [4], [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Detection Efficiency of Silicon Carbide Neutron Detector Using Double Trench

et al. 2023

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In this article, we propose a double-trenchtype silicon carbide (SiC) neutron detector and model it using the concept of a unit cell on the GEANT4 platform. When the low-level discriminator (LLD) value was fixed at 300 keV, the structural parameters of this double-trench-type SiC neutron detector were optimized to maximize the intrinsic detection efficiency. Compared with the single trench type, the doubletrench-type SiC neutron detector can significantly improve the neutron intrinsic detection efficiency within a limited trench depth, which was especially suitable for the current technological status that SiC materials can only be used for shallow trench etching. Apart from optimizing the structural parameters, the energy deposition spectra in the SiC detector region by the generated secondary charged particles upon thermal neutron interaction in neutron conversion materials ( 10 B and 6 LiF) have also been estimated. It can be found that the double-trench-type SiC neutron detector counts significantly increased in the low-energy range, while the counts in the high-energy range are only slightly decreased. This is also the essential reason why the intrinsic detection efficiency of the double-trench-type SiC neutron detector was significantly improved compared to the single-trench-type SiC neutron detector.

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High-efficiency microstructured semiconductor neutron detectors for direct 3He replacement

Cited by 26 publications

References 25 publications

Microfabrication of a gadolinium-derived solid-state sensor for thermal neutrons

Microfabrication of a gadolinium-derived solid-state sensor for thermal neutrons

Current Status of Helium-3 Alternative Technologies for Nuclear Safeguards

Improving Detection Efficiency of Silicon Carbide Neutron Detector Using Double Trench

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