Two-dimensional solid state gaseous detector based on $^{10}B$ layer for thermal and cold neutrons

Abstract

Two-dimensional solid state gaseous detector for thermal and cold neutrons is created. The detector has active area of 128 x 128 $mm^2$, $^{10}B$ neutron converter, and gas chamber with thin windows. The resistive charge-division readout is applied to determine the neutron position. The detector was tested using $W-Be$ photoneutron source at the Institute for Nuclear Research, Moscow. The detector efficiency is estimated as ~4% at neutron wavelength $\lambda = 1.82 \AA$ and 8% at $\lambda = 8 \AA$. The efficiency of the background detection was less than $10^{-5}$ of that for thermal neutrons. The resulting pulse height resolution and the spatial resolution are estimated as $\approx 15\%$ and $\approx 2.5 mm$, respectively.