Abstract
Detectors based on synthetic chemical vapor deposition diamond gain importance in various neutron applications. The superior thermal robustness and the excellent radiation hardness of diamond as well as its excellent electronic properties make this material uniquely suited for rough environments, such as nuclear fission and fusion reactors. The intrinsic electronic properties of single-crystal diamond sensors allow distinguishing various interactions in the detector. This can be used to successfully suppress background of γ-rays and charged particles in different neutron experiments, such as neutron flux measurements in thermal nuclear reactors or cross-section measurements in fast neutron fields. A novel technique of distinguishing background reactions in neutron experiments with diamond detectors will be presented. A proof of principle will be given on the basis of experimental results in thermal and fast neutron fields.
Highlights
In the past years, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond gained in importance as detector material in neutron applications [1, 2]
For a 500 μm thick single-crystal CVD (sCVD) diamond sensor, operated at 1 V/μm the signal has a full width at half maximum of FWHM = 9 ns, whereas an ionization close to the anode leads to signals with FWHM = 6 ns
In addition to the area, which is equivalent to the deposited energy in the sCVD diamond sensor, the FWHM of the signal can be used to identify the origin of the signal
Summary
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond gained in importance as detector material in neutron applications [1, 2]. This is due to its excellent thermal and mechanical robustness and its high radiation hardness. All measurements in neutron fields suffer from background, such as considerable γ -flux from the neutron source or charged particles from neutron-induced nuclear reactions in surrounding materials. The presented technique in this paper exploits the intrinsic electronic properties of sCVD diamond sensors for the identification of different particle species This serves as the basis for the separation of different reactions and for the efficient rejection of background in the experiment. One obtains spectra in mixed particle fields which are not accessible with conventional spectroscopic measurement techniques
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
