Beschreibung
An increase in demand and the resulting price increase of Helium-3 has
sparked the development of alternative kinds of neutron detectors for
various applications in neutron science. Our group is developing three
detectors with solid Boron-10 converters. With their scalability,
up-to-date readout electronics, high-rate capabilities and wide range of
active readout areas they are promising candidates as detectors in
imaging and scattering experiments.
The first design features a boronated Microchannel Plate and uses a
Timepix3 ASIC readout with an active readout of 2.8x2.8 cm². This
upgrade improves the resolution of an already successful implementation
for the now discontinued Timepix ASIC and guarantees the the
accessibility in future uses. The mechanical construction is completed
and readout implementation studies are ongoing.
The second detector uses a boron-lined Gas Electron Multiplier, which
acts simultaneously as a conversion and gas amplification stage. With
an active area of 10x10 cm² and the VMM3a ASIC a highly granular readout
with rates above 1e6/s is easily achievable. Currently the construction
of the first layer is ongoing. In further stages of development an
expansion to an active area of 30x30 cm² and implementation of up to ten
layers for enhanced detector efficiency is planned.
Thirdly we develop the BOron DEtector with Light and Ionisation
Reconstruction (BODELAIRE), which combines the concept of a Time
Projection Chamber (TPC) with a highly granular readout with high time
resolution and a boronated glass window for neutron conversion. Boron
absorbs incoming neutrons and decays into an alpha particle and a
Lithium ion. One of the ions enters the drift volume of the TPC and
creates a trace of electron-ion pairs, which the readout detects. The
other ion emitted in opposite direction is used to start the readout
with the help of a scintillator inside the glass vessel. The light
created in the scintillator is coupled to a trigger board via wavelength
shifting fibers to generate a start signal in silicon
photomultiplier-based electronics. The trigger system is
FPGA-controlled, which the user can interface with to set signal
thresholds. The TPC has been successfully build and the trigger system
is in its final stages of development.
In this work I will give an overview of the neutron detector projects in
our group and go into detail over the detector concept of the BODELAIRE
and its current status of development.
