6LiF单晶金刚石中子探测器制备及性能研究

Fabrication and Performance of Single-crystal Diamond Neutron Detector with 6LiF Thermal Neutron Converter

  • 摘要: 中子监测领域亟需耐辐照、响应快、能量分辨率高的中子探测器。金刚石材料具有禁带宽度大、抗辐照能力强、载流子迁移率高等优点,适合进行中子测量。本文设计并制备了基于6LiF热中子转换材料的单晶金刚石中子探测器,通过探测6Li(n,α)3H反应产生的次级带电粒子提高单晶金刚石探测器的热中子灵敏度。为提高金刚石探测器对热中子的探测效率,针对252Cf中子源基于单晶金刚石探测器进行了蒙特卡罗计算确定测量热中子所需聚乙烯慢化体厚度为5~6 cm,在此基础上制备了1 μm厚的6LiF热中子转换层的单晶金刚石中子探测器,并测量了该探测器对252Cf中子源及D-T中子发生器14 MeV中子源的响应谱。研究结果表明,所研制的探测器与不含6LiF转换层的探测器相比,对慢化后的252Cf热中子计数率最大可提高3.2%,响应谱氚特征峰能量分辨率为7.7%,优于奥地利Cividec B6-C金刚石探测器。制备的金刚石探测器对D-T中子发生器14 MeV单能中子响应谱能量分辨率为1.95%。该研究成果有望应用于现有252Cf中子源标定及14 MeV中子响应谱测量,同时为金刚石中子探测器制备和中子束流监测提供理论和数据支撑。

     

    Abstract: Neutron detectors with excellent resolution, responsiveness, and radiation tolerance are desperately needed in the field of neutron monitoring. Diamond material has several advantages such as a wide bandgap, strong radiation tolerance, and high carrier mobility, making it suitable for neutron measurement applications. In this work, a single-crystal diamond neutron detector equipping with 6LiF thermal neutron converter was designed and fabricated to improve thermal neutron efficiency by detecting secondary charged particles produced by the 6Li(n,α)3H reaction. To improve the thermal neutron detection efficiency of diamond detector, Monte Carlo simulations were conducted based on polyethylene moderator, 6LiF thermal neutron converter and a single-crystal diamond detector for the 252Cf neutron source. Optimal thicknesses for both the moderator and the thermal neutron converter were determined through these calculations. The required thickness of polyethylene moderator for detecting thermal neutrons was determined to be 5 to 6 cm. Subsequently, a single-crystalline diamond neutron detector with a 1 μm-thick layer of 6LiF was fabricated based on these results. The single-crystal diamond neutron detector structure was designed as a metal-semiconductor-metal structure. In the central 3.5 mm×3.5 mm area of both the upper and lower surfaces of the single-crystal diamond material, Ti/Au electrodes were deposited by electron beam evaporation with thicknesses of 30/400 nm respectively. The material was fixed onto a PCB board and corresponding shell design was made. By magnetron sputtering for 24 h, a 1 μm-thickness 6LiF conversion layer was deposited onto standard copper nut. The coated nut was then combined with the detector to fabricate a thermal neutron detector. The energy spectral response of the detector to both the 252Cf neutron source and the D-T neutron source at 14 MeV was measured. The research results indicate that the fabricated detector, compared to the detector without the 6LiF converter, can achieve a maximum increase in the thermal neutron count rate from slowed-down 252Cf of 13.2 s−1 and an energy resolution of 7.7%, which is superior to that of the Cividec B6-C diamond detector. The Cividec B6-C diamond detector has an energy resolution of 8.9% for the tritium characteristic peak under same test conditions. The fabricated detector demonstrates an energy resolution of 1.95% for detecting 14 MeV neutrons from the D-T neutron generator. These research results are expected to be applied in the calibration of existing 252Cf neutron sources and the measurement of 14 MeV neutron spectra. Additionally, they provide essential theoretical and data support for the fabrication of diamond neutron detectors and neutron beam monitoring.

     

/

返回文章
返回