A superconducting detector endstation for high-resolution energy-dispersive SR-XRF

PACS 29.30.Hs, 29.40.Vj, 29.40.Wk The common methods of neutron detection are reviewed with special attention paid to the application of cryogenics and semiconductors to the problem. The authors' work with LiF-and boron-based cryogenic instruments is described as well as the use of CdTe and HgI 2 for direct detection of neutrons. 1 Introduction Advances in materials and methods have enabled the detection of radiation by means today that would have seemed, to pioneers in the field a century ago, like science fiction. Improvements in technology have resulted, for gamma ray detection, in high-purity germanium operating at 77 K and providing 0.1% energy resolution above 1 MeV, more than an order of magnitude improvement over what was (and still is) achievable by scintillators. However, operating below 1 K, cryogenic calorimeters have been used in X-ray astronomy, in the search for dark matter, and more recently in gamma ray spectroscopy, and have achieved better than 70 eV resolution at 60 keV [1], a factor of 4 to 5 improvement over what can be achieved by germanium at that energy. Meanwhile, at the other end of the temperature spectrum, the development of new, wide band-gap semiconductors has sparked research in room temperature gamma ray detectors and has held out the hope of 1 -2% resolution and freedom from cryogenics [2,3].With such results being reported from the X-and gamma ray world it is natural to examine the possibilities for neutron detection. A cryogenic neutron detector would operate by detecting the heat pulses caused by neutron capture and scattering, while a semiconducting detector would detect the nuclear reaction products from a sensitizer (for example, fission fragments detected in a 235 U-coated Si diode) or from some constituent of the semiconductor.In the following sections, the common methods of neutron detection are described and their deficiencies with respect to neutron spectroscopy at energies above thermal (0.025 eV) are outlined. Published work on neutron-detecting cryogenic calorimeters will be reviewed and work by the present authors on boron-and lithium-based instruments will be discussed. Turning to semiconductors, we review work with coated and native (uncoated) semiconductor, including Cd 1-x Zn x Te (CZT) and HgI 2 , as applied to neutron detection. Results obtained by the authors with HgI 2 will be shown.

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“…The dimensions of the absorber are approximately 1 mm 2 by 0.25 mm thick. The refrigerator is described by Friedrich et al [32].…”

Section: Cryogenic Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neutron detection with cryogenics and semiconductors

Bell

Carpenter

Cristy

et al. 2005

phys. stat. sol. (c)

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“…An epoxy-coated Al screw in contact with the Si chip is used to control the thermal conductivity G TES to the cold bath and thus the signal decay time by applying variable mechanical tension. The crystal is installed on 1/32 00 sapphire balls mounting at the end of a cold finger inside the refrigerator [13]. The TES is voltage-biased, and signals are read-out with a commercial JeSEF SQUID preamplifier and optimally filtered off-line.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neutron absorption spectroscopy for identification of light elements in actinides

Hau

Niedermayr

Drury

et al. 2006

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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“…Its P/B ratio is limited by a $ 15 nm dead layer at the contact electrode. The 'typical' cryogenic detector describes the performance of a nine-pixel superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) spectrometer during routine operation at the synchrotron (Friedrich et al, 2001). The 'best' STJ combines achieved energy resolution (le Grand et al, 1998) and P/B ratios (Bechstein et al, 2004) with the efficiency and count-rate capabilities of a current 36-pixel upgrade.…”

Section: Science With Cryogenic Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One, typically a gallium gadolinium garnet (GGG), is used to cool a guard stage to $ 1 K, and a second one, usually iron ammonium sulfate, known as FAA for ferric ammonium alum, is used to cool the detector to $ 0.1 K (Fig. 10) (Hagmann & Richards, 1994;Friedrich et al, 2001). ADRs are compact, reliable, easy to use and the demagnetization cycle can easily be automated.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Cryogenic X-ray detectors for synchrotron science

Friedrich

2006

J Synchrotron Rad

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Cryogenic detectors operated at temperatures below 1 K offer an order of magnitude higher energy resolution than conventional semiconductor-based energy-dispersive detectors, and orders of magnitude higher efficiency that grating spectrometers. Initially developed for astrophysics applications, these detectors are increasingly used in synchrotron-based research, both for detector characterization and for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. This article reviews current cryogenic detector technologies and their performance with respect to their use in synchrotron science. It also discusses areas of research that can benefit from improved energy resolution detectors, and outlines desirable detector developments in the context of novel science they would enable.

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A superconducting detector endstation for high-resolution energy-dispersive SR-XRF

Cited by 18 publications

References 7 publications

Neutron detection with cryogenics and semiconductors

Neutron detection with cryogenics and semiconductors

Neutron absorption spectroscopy for identification of light elements in actinides

Cryogenic X-ray detectors for synchrotron science

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