Solid state neutron detector
First Claim
1. A neutron detector for detecting neutrons travelling in at least a first direction and comprising at least one neutron detecting assembly, said neutron detecting assembly comprising:
- a neutron-sensitive first material which produces energetic reaction particles when bombarded by neutrons;
a semiconducting second material forming a rectifying junction with said first material and containing hydrogen, said second material producing energetic free protons when bombarded by neutrons, said second material also producing electron-hole pairs as a result of energy deposited therein by said reaction particles and free protons, said electron-hole pairs migrating in opposite directions relative to said junction to produce an electrical current across said junction; and
means for measuring said electrical current flowing across said junction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A solid-state neutron detector for detecting both fast and slow neutrons comprises two layers, one of which contains a neutron-sensitive first material and the other of which contains a semiconducting second material containing hydrogen, the first and second materials meeting to form a rectifying junction therebetween. The neutrons are detected by detecting electron-hole pairs migrating in opposite directions relative to the junction. The electron-hole pairs are created by energetic free protons produced by the fast neutrons travelling through the second material and by energetic reaction particles produced by the slow neutrons travelling through the first material. Stacking several of these detectors next to each other enhances overall sensitivity for detecting both fast and slow neutrons.
55 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A neutron detector for detecting neutrons travelling in at least a first direction and comprising at least one neutron detecting assembly, said neutron detecting assembly comprising:
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a neutron-sensitive first material which produces energetic reaction particles when bombarded by neutrons; a semiconducting second material forming a rectifying junction with said first material and containing hydrogen, said second material producing energetic free protons when bombarded by neutrons, said second material also producing electron-hole pairs as a result of energy deposited therein by said reaction particles and free protons, said electron-hole pairs migrating in opposite directions relative to said junction to produce an electrical current across said junction; and means for measuring said electrical current flowing across said junction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of detecting neutrons travelling in at least a first direction, comprising the steps of:
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generating energetic reaction particles by disposing at least one neutron-sensitive first material in the path of said neutrons travelling in said first direction; generating energetic free protons by disposing at least one semiconducting second material containing hydrogen in said path of said neutrons travelling in said first direction, said second material forming a rectifying junction with said first material; generating electron-hole pairs in said second material as a result of energy deposited therein by said reaction particles and free protons, said electron-hole pairs migrating in opposite directions relative to said junction thereby producing an electrical current across said junction; and measuring said electric current flowing across said junction. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification