SOLID-STATE NEUTRON DETECTOR Russian patent published in 2011 - IPC G01T3/06 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a neutron detector for detecting neutrons in regions with significant γ- or β-radiation, having a neutron-sensitive scintillator crystal (10) which provides a neutron capturing signal which is stronger than the signal for capturing γ-radiation with energy of 3 MeV, a semiconductor photodetector which is optically connected to the scintillator crystal, where the scintillator crystal and the semiconductor photodetector (20) are selected such that the time for gathering the complete charge for signals of the scintillator in the semiconductor photodetector is greater than the time for gathering the complete charge for signals generated through direct detection of ionising radiation in the semiconductor photodetector. The neutron detector also has a device for sampling signals of the detector, a device (35) for processing digital signals, apparatus which differentiates signals directly from the semiconductor photodetector, induced by γ- or β-radiation and at least partially absorbed by the semiconductor photodetector, from light signals entering the semiconductor photodetector, emitted by the scintillator crystal after capturing at least one neutron, through separation based on the shape of the pulse, using the difference between the time for gathering the complete charge for signals of the scintillator and the time for gathering the complete charge for signals generated through direct detection of ionising radiation in the semiconductor photodetector, and apparatus which differentiates neutron-induced signals from γ-radiation induced signals in the scintillator crystal by differentiating different signals according to the height of their pulse, using the difference between the number of photons generated by the neutron and the γ-radiation in the region of interest.

EFFECT: design of a compact neutron detector.

7 cl, 3 dwg