Abstract
Background
Helium-3-filled linear position-sensitive detectors (LPSDs) have been widely applied to neutron scattering instruments in recent decades owing to the high detection efficiency, the excellent neutron/gamma discrimination, and the ability to construct the detector with large area coverage. More than 65% of neutron instruments at the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) require 3He LPSDs for the building of the detector system. The detector of a neutron scattering instrument is normally an array detector composed of a large number of 3He LPSDs. However, no appropriate substitute detector is available for the 3He LPSD for operation over a short period, and its specifications need to be customized to satisfy the requirements of different instruments. This necessitates the development of 3He LPSDs with different specifications for building and upgrading the detectors of neutron scattering instruments at CSNS.
Purpose
To meet the general requirements specified by the neutron instruments at CSNS, a 3He LPSD was developed and its performances were investigated by using the neutron beam.
Methods
The neutron beam experiments for this 3He LPSD, including measurements of counting rate plateau curve, position calibration, and position resolution along the tube path, were carried out at the beamline-20 of CSNS. To evaluate its performance in the instrument operation, a detector module made of this 3He LPSD has been installed in the multi-physics instrument (MPI), and the comparison test with the commercial 3He LPSD has been conducted at neutron scattering experiments.
Results and conclusion
The experimental measurements for this 3He LPSD based on the neutron beam showed that it satisfies the requirements for use in neutron scattering instruments. It reaches a plateau slope of 2.6%/100 V with a plateau range from 1750 to 1950 V and attained a minimal position resolution of 5.3 mm (FWHM), superior to the one achieved by the commercial 3He LPSD. In addition, this 3He LPSD detector module applied to the MPI has been working steadily for half of year and is available for use in experiments. These results provide a sound basis for the subsequent construction and upgradation of the detector of neutron scattering instruments at CSNS.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China [Grant No. 2021YFA1600703], the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [Grant No. XPB23], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 12175254].
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Zhu, L., Zhou, Jr., Jiang, Xf. et al. Development of 3He-filled linear position-sensitive detector for neutron scattering instruments at CSNS. Radiat Detect Technol Methods 7, 100–106 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41605-022-00367-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41605-022-00367-9