A Study of the Fast Neutron Response of a Single-Crystal Diamond Detector at High Temperatures
At a Glance
Section titled “At a Glance”| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2017-12-15 |
| Journal | IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science |
| Authors | Amit Kumar, Anita Topkar |
| Institutions | Homi Bhabha National Institute, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre |
| Citations | 10 |
Abstract
Section titled “Abstract”The fast neutron response of a single-crystal diamond (SCD) detector was studied up to 300 °C. The SCD detector was fabricated using a 5 mm×5 mm×0.4 mm substrate with premetallization treatments for obtaining oxygen terminated surfaces. The electrical contacts to the detector were provided by Cr/Au metallization. The performance of the fabricated detector was investigated using leakage current versus bias voltage (I-V) measurements and using pulse height spectra measurements with 5.5 MeV alphas and 14 MeV fast neutrons. The leakage current was observed to be about 400-600 pA at a field of 1 V/μm. From the full-width half-maximum of the alpha peak at 5.5 MeV, an energy resolution of about 2.1 ± 0.1% was estimated. The fast neutron response measurements were carried out using a 14 MeV deuterium-tritium neutron source. No measurable degradation of the detector performance was observed up to the maximum studied temperature of 300 °C. The neutron spectrum obtained at 300 °C showed a well-defined peak at 8.5 MeV due to the <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>12</sup> C(n, α) <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>9</sup> Be reaction which was the same as that observed at room temperature. Considering the total integrated counts, the detector sensitivity was observed to be 10 <sup xmlns:mml=“http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML” xmlns:xlink=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”>-2</sup> count per neutron. The results presented in this paper demonstrate for the first time the high temperature operation of an SCD detector up to 300 °C. These results also suggest that such SCD detectors could be used at higher temperatures for neutron diagnostics in the future fusion plasma facilities such as International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.
Tech Support
Section titled “Tech Support”Original Source
Section titled “Original Source”References
Section titled “References”- 0 - Online monitoring of fast neutron (DT/DD) at Purnima neutron generator