Fast Neutron Detection using Pixelated CdZnTe Spectrometers

Journal Article · Mon May 29 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/tns.2017.2709543· OSTI ID:1360927

Streicher, Michael ^[1]; Goodman, David ^[1]; Zhu, Yuefeng ^[1]; Brown, Steven ^[1]; Kiff, Scott ^[2]; He, Zhong ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

One important important signature of special nuclear materials (SNM) are fast neutrons. Fast neutrons have a low natural background rate and readily penetrate high atomic number materials which easily shield gamma-ray signatures. Thus, fast neutrons provide a complementary signal to gamma rays for detecting shielded SNM. Scattering kinematics dictate that a large nucleus (such as Cd or Te) will recoil with small kinetic energy after an elastic collision with a fast neutron. Charge carrier recombination and quenching further reduce the recorded energy deposited. Thus, the energy threshold of CdZnTe detectors must be very low in order to sense the small signals from these recoils. Here, the threshold was reduced to less than 5 keVee to demonstrate that the 5.9 keV x-ray line from ⁵⁵Fe could be separated from electronic noise. Elastic scattering neutron interactions were observed as small energy depositions (less than 20 keVee) using digitally-sampled pulse waveforms from pixelated CdZnTe detectors. Characteristic gamma-ray lines from inelastic neutron scattering were also observed.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 1360927
• Report Number(s): SAND--2017-5518J; 653592
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 64; ISSN 0018-9499
• Publisher: IEEE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
CdZnTe detectors
gamma-ray spectrscopy
low-energy threshold systems
neutron detectors
special nuclear materials monitoring