Far-ultraviolet signatures of the {sup 3}He(n,tp) reaction in noble gas mixtures

Journal Article · Mon Dec 06 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3521285· OSTI ID:21518207

Hughes, Patrick P; Thompson, Alan K; Vest, Robert E ^[1]; Coplan, Michael A ^[2]; Clark, Charles W ^[1]

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1. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States)
2. Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)

Previous work showed that the {sup 3}He(n,tp) reaction in a cell of {sup 3}He at atmospheric pressure generated tens of far-ultraviolet photons per reacted neutron. Here we report amplification of that signal by factors of 1000 and more when noble gases are added to the cell. Calibrated filter-detector measurements show that this large signal is due to noble gas excimer emissions and that the nuclear reaction energy is converted to far-ultraviolet radiation with efficiencies of up to 30%. The results have been placed on an absolute scale through calibrations at the NIST SURF III synchrotron. They suggest possibilities for high-efficiency neutron detectors as an alternative to existing proportional counters.

• OSTI ID: 21518207
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 97, Issue 23; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3521285; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
AMPLIFICATION
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
CALIBRATION
EFFICIENCY
EMISSION
FAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
FILTERS
HELIUM 3 TARGET
MIXTURES
NEUTRON DETECTION
NEUTRON DETECTORS
NEUTRON REACTIONS
NEUTRONS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
PHOTONS
PROPORTIONAL COUNTERS
RARE GASES
SYNCHROTRONS
TRITONS
ACCELERATORS
BARYON REACTIONS
BARYONS
BOSONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
CYCLIC ACCELERATORS
DETECTION
DISPERSIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
FERMIONS
FLUIDS
GASES
HADRON REACTIONS
HADRONS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NONMETALS
NUCLEON REACTIONS
NUCLEONS
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATIONS
TARGETS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION