skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Method for manufacturing solid-state thermal neutron detectors with simultaneous high thermal neutron detection efficiency (>50%) and neutron to gamma discrimination (>1.0E4)

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1176522

Methods for manufacturing solid-state thermal neutron detectors with simultaneous high thermal neutron detection efficiency (>50%) and neutron to gamma discrimination (>10.sup.4) are provided. A structure is provided that includes a p+ region on a first side of an intrinsic region and an n+ region on a second side of the intrinsic region. The thickness of the intrinsic region is minimized to achieve a desired gamma discrimination factor of at least 1.0E+04. Material is removed from one of the p+ region or the n+ region and into the intrinsic layer to produce pillars with open space between each pillar. The open space is filed with a neutron sensitive material. An electrode is placed in contact with the pillars and another electrode is placed in contact with the side that is opposite of the intrinsic layer with respect to the first electrode.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
Assignee:
Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (Livermore, CA)
Patent Number(s):
8,558,188
Application Number:
13/456,182
OSTI ID:
1176522
Resource Relation:
Patent File Date: 2012 Apr 25
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (20)

Sub-100 nm Triangular Nanopores Fabricated with the Reactive Ion Etching Variant of Nanosphere Lithography and Angle-Resolved Nanosphere Lithography journal June 2004
Method for producing inorganic semiconductor nanocrystalline rods and their us patent-application November 2003
Fabrication of Pillar-structured thermal neutron detectors conference October 2007
New surface morphology for low stress thin-film-coated thermal neutron detectors journal August 2002
A Handheld Neutron-Detection Sensor System Utilizing a New Class of Boron Carbide Diode journal January 2006
Method of manufacturing a mask support of sic for x-ray lithography masks patent July 1990
Boron nitride solid state neutron detector patent April 2004
CsLiLn Halide Scintillator patent-application February 2011
Thin-film-coated bulk GaAs detectors for thermal and fast neutron measurements
  • McGregor, D. S.; Klann, R. T.; Gersch, H. K.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 466, Issue 1, p. 126-141 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9002(01)00835-X
journal June 2001
Roadmap for high efficiency solid-state neutron detectors conference October 2005
Sputtered boron films on silicon surface barrier detectors journal June 1967
Efficiencies of coated and perforated semiconductor neutron detectors journal June 2006
High-efficiency neutron detectors and methods of making same patent-application November 2005
Method and device for processing substrate, and apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor device patent-application December 2004
Pillar structured thermal neutron detector conference October 2008
Semiconductor substrate incorporating a neutron conversion layer patent March 2005
The effect of incremental gamma-ray doses and incremental neutron fluences upon the performance of self-biased 10B-coated high-purity epitaxial GaAs thermal neutron detectors
  • Gersch, H. K.; McGregor, D. S.; Simpson, P. A.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 489, Issue 1-3, p. 85-98 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9002(02)00793-3
journal August 2002
6:1 aspect ratio silicon pillar based thermal neutron detector filled with B10 journal September 2008
Numerical Simulations of Pillar Structured Solid State Thermal Neutron Detector: Efficiency and Gamma Discrimination journal October 2009
Study of the sensitivity of neutron sensors consisting of a converter plus Si charged-particle detector
  • Wielunski, M.; Schütz, R.; Fantuzzi, E.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 517, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2003.07.032
journal January 2004

Similar Records

Gamma discrimination in pillar structured thermal neutron detectors
Conference · Mon Mar 26 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · OSTI ID:1176522

Numerical Simulations of Pillar Structured Solid State Thermal Neutron Detector Efficiency and Gamma Discrimination
Journal Article · Tue Jun 24 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · Transactions on Nuclear Science, vol. 56, no. 5, October 1, 2009, pp. 2802 · OSTI ID:1176522

Experimental determination of gamma-ray discrimination in pillar-structured thermal neutron detectors under high gamma-ray flux
Journal Article · Tue Aug 04 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment · OSTI ID:1176522