The 2D-Micro Hole & Strip Plate in CF₄atmosphere aiming neutron imaging

Abstract

The Micro Hole & Strip Plate (MHSP) achieves gains above 300 in tetrafluoromethane (CF 4 ) at 2.6 bar, making it suitable for neutron detection. Over the past few years, the imaging capabilities of the MHSP have been developed, leading to the 2D-MHSP. In this device, the position coordinates are determined using the principle of resistive charge division. The GEM-side was specially patterned in strips interconnected by a resistive strip for one of the coordinates and, in the MS-side, the anode strips were also interconnected by another resistive strip. By applying a trivial center of mass algorithm it is possible to obtain both coordinates and the energy of each detected event. The ability to register position and energy for each event can be very useful for event validation in neutron detection. In this work, the performance of the 2D-MHSP in CF 4 is investigated. The Modular Transfer Function (MTF) is presented, showing that position resolutions of 700 µm in x and 1 mm in the y-direction are obtained with X-rays. It is also demonstrated that resolutions below the proton range (1 mm) are possible at 2.6 bar CF 4 , demonstrating that the MHSP can be a cost effective choice for neutron imaging.