Compact ion chamber based neutron detector
| DWPI Title: Ion chamber-based directional neutron detector for detecting e.g. thermal neutron in laboratory environment, has readout circuitry coupled to electrodes, where distance is no more than half attenuation length for neutrons in material unit |
| Abstract: A directional neutron detector has an ion chamber formed in a dielectric material; a signal electrode and a ground electrode formed in the ion chamber; a neutron absorbing material filling the ion chamber; readout circuitry which is electrically coupled to the signal and ground electrodes; and a signal processor electrically coupled to the readout circuitry. The ion chamber has a pair of substantially planar electrode surfaces. The chamber pressure of the neutron absorbing material is selected such that the reaction particle ion trail length for neutrons absorbed by the neutron absorbing material is equal to or less than the distance between the electrode surfaces. The signal processor is adapted to determine a path angle for each absorbed neutron based on the rise time of the corresponding pulse in a time-varying detector signal. |
| Use: Ion chamber-based directional neutron detector for detecting thermal and fast neutron in a laboratory environment. |
| Advantage: The detector improves gamma rejection, reduces consumption of helium-3 and provides increased resolution and directional discrimination in an efficient manner, while improving efficiency. The detector reduces distance between the electrodes, thus reducing recombination of charge before collected at electrodes by reducing drift time before collection for charges. |
| Novelty: The detector has a first electrode (400) formed on a first surface. A second electrode (402) is formed on a second surface at an interelectrode separation distance from the first electrode. A material unit that fills an ion chamber reacts with neutrons to create ion trails (110). A readout circuitry is formed in a portion of an active semiconductor substrate and coupled to the electrodes, where the distance is no more than half attenuation length for thermal neutrons in ion-trail-creating material unit that fills the chamber at pressure of 100 Atmospheric at room temperature. |
| Filed: 11/12/2014 |
| Application Number: US14539972A |
| Tech ID: SD 10305.3 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
| Data from Derwent World Patents Index, provided by Clarivate All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Clarivate content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license. |