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A. Osovizky, Kevin N. Pritchard, Y. Yehuda-Zada, Jeffrey B. Ziegler, Louis E. Binkley, Peter NMN Tsai, Alan Keith Thompson, Nancy Hadad, M. Jackson, C. Hurlbut, George M. Baltic, Charles Majkrzak, Nicholas C. Maliszewskyj
Abstract
We describe the design and performance of an ultrathin (< 2mm) cold neutron proportional counter consisting of 6LiF:ZnS(Ag) scintillator in which wavelength shifting fibers have been embedded to conduct scintillation photons out of the medium to a silicon photomultiplier photosensor. The counter has a neutron sensitive volume of 12 mm wide × 30 mm high × 1.4 mm deep. Twenty-four 0.5 mm diameter wavelength shifting fibers conduct the scintillation light out of the plane of the detector and are concentrated onto a 3 mm × 3 mm silicon photomultiplier. The proportional counter is demonstrated to possess a neutron detection efficiency of 93% for 3.27 meV neutrons with a gamma ray rejection ratio on the order of 10-7.
Citation
Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research A
Osovizky, A.
, Pritchard, K.
, Yehuda-Zada, Y.
, Ziegler, J.
, Binkley, L.
, Tsai, P.
, Thompson, A.
, Hadad, N.
, Jackson, M.
, Hurlbut, C.
, Baltic, G.
, Majkrzak, C.
and Maliszewskyj, N.
(2018),
Design of an Ultrathin Cold Neutron Detector, Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research A, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=923891
(Accessed October 21, 2025)