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Ultracold neutron detection with 6Li-doped glass scintillators

NANOSC: A fast ultracold neutron detector for the nEDM experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute

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Abstract.

This paper summarizes the results from measurements aiming to characterize ultracold neutron detection with 6Li-doped glass scintillators. Single GS10 or GS20 scintillators, with a thickness of 100-200μm, fulfill the ultracold neutron detection requirements with an acceptable neutron-gamma discrimination. This discrimination is clearly improved with a stack of two scintillators: a 6Li-depleted glass bonded to a 6Li-enriched glass. The technique of optical contact bonding is used between the two glasses in order to eliminate the need for optical glue or grease between them. Relative to a 3He Strelkov gas detector, the scintillator’s detection efficiency is lower for UCN energies close to the scintillator’s Fermi potential (85-100 neV), but becomes larger at higher UCN energies. Coupled to a digital data acquisition system, counting rates up to a few 105 counts/s can be handled. A detector based on such a scintillator stack arrangement was built and has been used in the neutron electric dipole moment experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute since 2010. Its response for routine runs of the neutron electric dipole moment experiment is presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Normandie Univ, ENSICAEN, UNICAEN, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Caen, 14000, Caen, France

    G. Ban, V. Hélaine, T. Lefort, Y. Lemière, O. Naviliat-Cuncic, E. Pierre, G. Quéméner & G. Rogel

  2. Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232, Villigen-PSI, Switzerland

    G. Bison, Z. Chowdhuri, V. Hélaine, R. Henneck, K. Kirch, S. Komposch, J. Krempel, B. Lauss, A. Mtchedlishvili, D. Ries, P. Schmidt-Wellenburg & G. Zsigmond

  3. Marian Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, 30-059, Cracow, Poland

    K. Bodek & J. Zejma

  4. Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France

    P. Geltenbort

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QH, Brighton, UK

    W. C. Griffith & M. Musgrave

  6. Instituut voor Kernen Stralingsfysica, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium

    M. Kasprzak, P. A. Koss, N. Severijns & E. Wursten

  7. LPSC, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS/IN2P3, Grenoble, France

    Y. Kermaidic, G. Pignol & D. Rebreyend

  8. ETH Zürich, Institute for Particle Physics, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland

    K. Kirch, S. Komposch, J. Krempel, F. M. Piegsa, M. Rawlik & D. Ries

  9. Henryk Niedwodniczański Institute for Nuclear Physics, 31-342, Cracow, Poland

    A. Kozela

  10. CSNSM, Université Paris Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, Orsay, France

    S. Roccia

Authors
  1. G. Ban
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  2. G. Bison
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  3. K. Bodek
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  4. Z. Chowdhuri
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  5. P. Geltenbort
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  6. W. C. Griffith
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  7. V. Hélaine
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  8. R. Henneck
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  9. M. Kasprzak
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  10. Y. Kermaidic
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  11. K. Kirch
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  12. S. Komposch
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  13. P. A. Koss
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  14. A. Kozela
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  15. J. Krempel
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  16. B. Lauss
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  17. T. Lefort
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  18. Y. Lemière
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  19. A. Mtchedlishvili
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  20. M. Musgrave
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  21. O. Naviliat-Cuncic
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  22. F. M. Piegsa
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  23. E. Pierre
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  24. G. Pignol
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  25. G. Quéméner
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  26. M. Rawlik
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  27. D. Ries
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  28. D. Rebreyend
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  29. S. Roccia
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  30. G. Rogel
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  31. P. Schmidt-Wellenburg
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  32. N. Severijns
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  33. E. Wursten
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  34. J. Zejma
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  35. G. Zsigmond
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. Lefort.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Jokinen

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Ban, G., Bison, G., Bodek, K. et al. Ultracold neutron detection with 6Li-doped glass scintillators. Eur. Phys. J. A 52, 326 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2016-16326-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2016-16326-4

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