Abstract
The use of wide-band-gap solid-state neutron detectors is expanding in environments where a compact size and high radiation hardness are needed, such as spallation neutron sources and next-generation fusion machines. Silicon carbide is a very promising material for use as a neutron detector in these fields because of its high resistance to radiation, fast response time, stability and good energy resolution. In this paper, measurements were performed with neutrons from the ISIS spallation source with two different silicon carbide detectors together with stability measurements performed in a laboratory under alpha-particle irradiation for one week. Some consideration to the impact of the casing of the detector on the detector’s counting rate is given. In addition, the detector response to Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) fusion neutrons is described by comparing neutron measurements at the Frascati Neutron Generator with a GEANT4 simulation. The good stability measurements and the assessment of the detector response function indicate that such a detector can be used as both a neutron counter and spectrometer for 2–4 MeV neutrons. Furthermore, the absence of polarization effects during neutron and alpha irradiation makes silicon carbide an interesting alternative to diamond detectors for fast neutron detection.
Highlights
The Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) was obtained through p the relation FWHM = 2σ × 2 × ln(2), where σ is the standard deviation of the Gaussian fit
The energy resolution of the detector was computed as the ratio between the FWHM and the alpha energy, with the assumption that the incident α-particle spectrum was monochromatic
The detectors were exposed to the ISIS pulsed neutron flux, and the pulse height of the events was measured in a 2 μs time window synchronized with the start signal from the Proton Synchrotron (PS) beam
Summary
The SSD scene is currently dominated by diamond detectors, which, for instance, are currently installed at the JET tokamak [3] as neutron spectrometers [2,4] and at the ChipIr beamline at ISIS [5] as beam monitors [6,7]. The development of large high-power tokamaks (such as ITER [8]) requires neutron detectors to be installed closer to the plasma and, to be able to sustain the high temperature and neutron flux of such an environment. This is driving interest in new and more neutron-resilient SSDs, such as silicon carbide detectors
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