Development and performance of a low-cost, solid-state, thermal neutron sensor with a 10B converter

IF 1.5 3区化学 Q3 CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Pub Date : 2024-12-31 DOI:10.1007/s10967-024-09878-9

P. Costa, J. L. Weaver, M. P. Raele, K. Pritchard, J. B. Leão, C. Domienikan, N. C. Maliszewskyj, F. S. da Silva, W. W. Pereira, F. A. Genezini

{"title":"Development and performance of a low-cost, solid-state, thermal neutron sensor with a 10B converter","authors":"P. Costa, J. L. Weaver, M. P. Raele, K. Pritchard, J. B. Leão, C. Domienikan, N. C. Maliszewskyj, F. S. da Silva, W. W. Pereira, F. A. Genezini","doi":"10.1007/s10967-024-09878-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study demonstrates the construction and operation of a portable, solid-state thermal neutron sensor that utilizes a photodiode coated with a thin layer of boron-10 (<sup>10</sup>B). The boron layer was created using pulsed laser deposition and analyzed with neutron depth profiling (NDP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sensor's response to both thermal and cold neutrons was evaluated under varying neutron fluence rates. Additionally, the impact of the angles between the neutron beam and the sensor surface was examined. SEM results showed a porous <sup>10</sup>B film structure, while NDP indicated a nearly uniform distribution of the isotope throughout the film. The electronic signal generated by the sensor exhibited a linear response to neutron fluence rates. However, the measured intrinsic efficiencies were lower than those of commercially available gas-phase detectors, with thermal neutrons yielding an efficiency of (1.17 ± 0.01) % and cold neutrons at (1.78 ± 0.01) %. Potential design upgrades that could increase the sensor's efficiency in the future are also discussed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry","volume":"334 2","pages":"1333 - 1342"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10967-024-09878-9","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study demonstrates the construction and operation of a portable, solid-state thermal neutron sensor that utilizes a photodiode coated with a thin layer of boron-10 (¹⁰B). The boron layer was created using pulsed laser deposition and analyzed with neutron depth profiling (NDP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sensor's response to both thermal and cold neutrons was evaluated under varying neutron fluence rates. Additionally, the impact of the angles between the neutron beam and the sensor surface was examined. SEM results showed a porous ¹⁰B film structure, while NDP indicated a nearly uniform distribution of the isotope throughout the film. The electronic signal generated by the sensor exhibited a linear response to neutron fluence rates. However, the measured intrinsic efficiencies were lower than those of commercially available gas-phase detectors, with thermal neutrons yielding an efficiency of (1.17 ± 0.01) % and cold neutrons at (1.78 ± 0.01) %. Potential design upgrades that could increase the sensor's efficiency in the future are also discussed.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 化学-分析化学

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

18.80%

发文量

504

审稿时长

2.2 months

期刊介绍： An international periodical publishing original papers, letters, review papers and short communications on nuclear chemistry. The subjects covered include: Nuclear chemistry, Radiochemistry, Radiation chemistry, Radiobiological chemistry, Environmental radiochemistry, Production and control of radioisotopes and labelled compounds, Nuclear power plant chemistry, Nuclear fuel chemistry, Radioanalytical chemistry, Radiation detection and measurement, Nuclear instrumentation and automation, etc.