Thermal Neutron Absorption in Printed Circuit Boards

Platt, S. P.; August, Shaun; MacLeod, Michael C.; Anderson, Michael J.; Cheneler, David; Monk, Stephen

doi:10.1109/tns.2021.3060864

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The PCBs are made of FR-4 material, which is a composite of epoxy resin and “E”-grade glass fibre. Unfortunately, approximately 0.2-0.3% of the mass of this material is 10 B 22 . Due to the presence of 10 B, there is a background signal of 478 keV photons which has been previously reported for this detector 23 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First experimental demonstration of real-time neutron capture discrimination in helium and carbon ion therapy

Kielly,

Caracciolo,

Chacon

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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This work provides the first experimental proof of an increased neutron capture photon signal following the introduction of boron to a PMMA phantom during helium and carbon ion therapies in Neutron Capture Enhanced Particle Therapy (NCEPT). NCEPT leverages $$^{10}$$ 10 B neutron capture, leading to the emission of detectable 478 keV photons. Experiments were performed at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba, Japan, with two Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) targets, one bearing a boron insert. The BeNEdiCTE gamma-ray detector measured an increase in the 478 keV signal of 45 ± 7% and 26 ± 2% for carbon and helium ion irradiation, respectively. Our Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation model, developed to investigate photon origins, found less than 30% of detected photons originated from the insert, while boron in the detector’s circuit boards contributed over 65%. Further, the model investigated detector sensitivity, establishing its capability to record a 10% increase in 478 keV photon detection at a target $$^{10}$$ 10 B concentration of 500 ppm using spectral windowing alone, and 25% when combined with temporal windowing. The linear response extended to concentrations up to 20,000 ppm. The increase in the signal in all evaluated cases confirm the potential of the proposed detector design for neutron capture quantification in NCEPT.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First experimental demonstration of real-time neutron capture discrimination in helium and carbon ion therapy

Kielly,

Caracciolo,

Chacon

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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show abstract

“…Other electronic components of the detector module, such as SIPMs and ASICs, contain 10 B in p-type semiconductor structures which use boron atoms as dopants. In the FR4 substrate the 10 B weight fraction is estimated to be between 0.2 and 0.3%, and assuming a FR4 density of around 1.85 g/cm 3 , it results in a concentration of at least 2.2 × 10 20 10 B atoms/cm 3 [16]. The motherboard and the powerboard have a volume of 9.4 cm × 9.4 cm × 1.6 mm and 9.4 cm × 9.4 cm × 1.2 mm, respectively.…”

Section: Pcb Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the complexity of closely reproducing the semiconductor structures present on such electronic boards, and in light of the considerations in section 3.1, we will approximate the PCBs as uniformly made of FR4 material. The FR4 material composition is 40% epoxy resin and 60% glass fiber by weight [16]. The electronic components soldered on the boards were not implemented in the geometry since they are negligible in neutron reactions [16].…”

Section: Pcb Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Study of the thermal neutron activation of a gamma-ray detector for BNCT dose monitoring

Colombo,

Caracciolo,

Mazzucconi

et al. 2024

J. Inst.

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We present a study on the neutron activation of a gamma-ray detector for a BNCT-SPECT dose imaging system. The detector is based on a LaBr3(Ce+Sr) scintillator crystal, coupled with a matrix of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), read by a dedicated electronics system. This detector has successfully demonstrated to be capable to identify the 10B compounds when irradiating borated vials with thermal neutrons. However, a background signal around 478 keV was detected, suggesting the activation of the detector itself. This study aims to determine the origin of this background signal by simulating the two main parts of the detector, which are the crystal and electronic boards, in order to assess their contribution to the background signal. The results of the FLUKA simulations show that the neutron capture reactions on both the crystal and electronic boards cause a relevant background nearby the BNCT signal, thereby limiting the detector's sensitivity. To address this issue, a customized cadmium shielding has been developed. This solution was tested at the TRIGA Mark II research nuclear reactor of Pavia University, where experimental measurements and corresponding FLUKA simulations proved its effectiveness.

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“…The PCB are made of FR-4 material that is a composite of epoxy resin and "E"-grade glass fibre. Unfortunately, approximately 0.2-0.3% of the mass of this material is 10 B 16 . Due to the presence of 10 B, there is a background signal of 478 keV photons which has been previously reported for this detector 17 .…”

Section: Experimental Configurationmentioning

confidence: 99%

First experimental demonstration of real-time neutron capture discrimination in helium and carbon ion therapy

Kielly

Caracciolo

Chacon

et al. 2023

Preprint

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This work provides the first experimental proof of an increased neutron capture photon signal following the introduction of boron to a PMMA phantom during helium and carbon ion therapies in Neutron Capture Enhanced Particle Therapy (NCEPT). NCEPT leverages 10B neutron capture, leading to the emission of detectable 478 keV photons. Experiments were performed at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba, Japan, with two PMMA targets, one bearing a boron insert. The BeNEdiCTE gamma-ray detector measured an increase in the 478 keV signal of 45 ± 7% and 26 ± 2% for carbon and helium ion irradiation, respectively. Our Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation model, developed to investigate photon origins, found less than 30% of detected photons originated from the insert, while boron in the detector’s circuit boards contributed over 65%. Further, the model investigated detector sensitivity, establishing its capability to record a 10% increase in 478 keV photon detection at a target 10 B concentration of 500 ppm using spectral windowing alone, and 25% when combined with temporal windowing. The linear response extended to concentrations up to 20000 ppm. The increase in the signal in all evaluated cases confirm the potential of the proposed detector design for neutron capture quantification in NCEPT.

show abstract

Thermal Neutron Absorption in Printed Circuit Boards

Cited by 6 publications

References 21 publications

First experimental demonstration of real-time neutron capture discrimination in helium and carbon ion therapy

First experimental demonstration of real-time neutron capture discrimination in helium and carbon ion therapy

Study of the thermal neutron activation of a gamma-ray detector for BNCT dose monitoring

First experimental demonstration of real-time neutron capture discrimination in helium and carbon ion therapy

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