A semiconductor-based neutron detection system for planetary exploration

Alejandro Soto; Ryan G. Fronk; Kerry Neal; Bent Ehresmann; Steven L. Bellinger; Michael Shoffner; Douglas S. McGregor

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2020.163852

A semiconductor-based neutron detection system for planetary exploration

Alejandro Soto, Ryan G. Fronk, Kerry Neal, Bent Ehresmann, Steven L. Bellinger, Michael Shoffner, Douglas S. McGregor

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

We explore the use of microstructured semiconductor neutron detectors (MSNDs) to map the ratio between thermal neutrons and higher energy neutrons. The system consists of alternating layers of modular neutron detectors (MNDs), each comprising arrays of twenty-four MSNDs, and high-density polyethylene moderators (HDPE) with gadolinium shielding to filter between thermal neutrons and higher energy neutrons. We experimentally measured the performance of three different configurations and demonstrated that the sensor system prototypes detect and differentiate thermal and epithermal neutrons. We discuss future planetary exploration applications of this compact, semiconductor-based low-energy neutron detection system.

Original language	English
Article number	163852
Journal	Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume	966
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.163852
State	Published - Jun 21 2020
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Microstructured semiconductor neutron detectors
Neutron spectroscopy
Remote sensing

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10.1016/j.nima.2020.163852

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Soto, A., Fronk, R. G., Neal, K., Ehresmann, B., Bellinger, S. L., Shoffner, M., & McGregor, D. S. (2020). A semiconductor-based neutron detection system for planetary exploration. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 966, Article 163852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.163852

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AU - Soto, Alejandro

AU - Fronk, Ryan G.

AU - Neal, Kerry

AU - Ehresmann, Bent

AU - Bellinger, Steven L.

AU - Shoffner, Michael

AU - McGregor, Douglas S.

PY - 2020/6/21

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A semiconductor-based neutron detection system for planetary exploration

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Keywords

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