Detectors JRA - latest achievements

It is time for a summary of the achievements of this JRA, which aims to develop two promising detector technologies to cope with the high cost and near unavailability of ³He.

NMI3, 10/12/2015

Neutron scattering facilities have, for many years, depended on the availability of ³He for a large fraction of their detector requirements. Within the last 2–3 years demand for ³He, driven largely by the US homeland security requirements, has lead to an unprecedented rise in the cost of ³He and its unavailability for all but the smallest of systems.

For neutron scattering facilities to function effectively it is thus crucial that alternative, cost effective detector technologies are developed. The Detectors Joint Research Activity (JRA) focuses on the development of two promising detector technologies which could alleviate the dire situation now facing the facilities as a result of the high cost and near unavailability of ³He. The main objective of this JRA is the development of detector technologies to replace ³He detector technology in neutron scattering applications.

For more information about the different tasks of this JRA please visit this page .

High field spectrometer

Development of scintillation detectors

• Hardware for two Wavelength Shifting (WLS) fibre-coded scintillation detectors
• Signal processing schemes for determining when and where neutron events occur
• Scintillation detector based on GS20 glass scintillator with a SiPM readout, scalable hardware, electronics and signal processing

The plasma jet when boron is injected.

Development of gas detectors based on solid ¹⁰B converter

• Performance evaluation of B₄C coatings produced by both magnetron sputtering and electron beam evaporation
• Macro-structured, boron-lined converter offering improved detection efficiency
• Promising technique for producing ¹⁰B films: thermal atmospheric plasma deposition
• 2D position sensitive test detector for evaluating the performance of films produced by alternative techniques
• Small test detector to evaluate coatings produced by magnetron sputtering and electron beam evaporation
• Concept detector based on a stack of large area MWPCs
• Concept detector using boron layers in conjunction with bulk Micromegas detector technology

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