Neutron detection by superconducting tunnel junctions on a Li2B4O7 single-crystal absorber

We succeeded in detecting neutrons using superconducting tunnel junctions (STJs) fabricated on a single crystal of Li₂B₄O₇. Neutrons are captured in the crystal by the nuclear reactions ⁶Li+n→T+alpha+4.78 MeV and ¹⁰B+n→⁷Li+alpha+2.3 MeV, which excite a large number of phonons in the substrate. The phonons propagate in the absorber and are measured by the STJs. We selected a single crystal of Li₂B₄O₇ as the absorber material because of properties such as the large neutron cross-section of ⁶Li and ¹⁰B, low γ-ray sensitivity, short particle range in the substrate, and fast phonon velocity. Series-connected or multiple STJs on the crystal would enable two-dimensional neutron imaging with high detection efficiency, low γ-ray background, and a high spatial resolution of a few microns. In this paper, we demonstrate neutron detection by STJs and report the basic characteristics of the fabricated STJs, including their X-ray response and neutron detection. The correlation in pulse heights between two junctions located 1.3 mm apart clearly indicates the possibility of neutron imaging.     

富集10B的Ce:Li6Lu(10BO3)3晶体生长及其闪烁性能

为了提高中子探测效率, 以富集¹⁰B的H₃¹⁰BO₃为原料, 通过提拉法生长了富集¹⁰B的Ce:Li₆Lu(¹⁰BO₃)₃晶体。X射线激发发射光谱测试表明: 其发光峰位于360~480 nm, 属于Ce³⁺离子典型的5d - 4f跃迁发光, 其闪烁发光效率为BGO晶体的3.9倍。在350 nm紫外光和¹³⁷Cs所发出的662 keV的γ射线激发下测得的衰减时间分别为21.0 ns 和31.7 ns, 在¹³⁷Cs辐射源激发下所测得的相对光输出是CsI(Tl)晶体的20%, 能量分辨率为9.7%。在慢化²⁵²Cf中子源激发下可以观测到明显的中子全能峰, 其能量分辨率为33%。上述研究结果表明, Ce:Li₆Lu(¹⁰BO₃)₃晶体具有较高的闪烁效率、快的衰减时间和良好的中子探测效率, 是一种具有应用前景的中子探测用闪烁晶体。     

25 MHz ultrasonic transducers with lead- free piezoceramic, 1-3 PZT fiber-epoxy composite, and PVDF polymer active elements

This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of single-element ultrasonic transducers whose active elements are made of lead-free piezoceramic, 1-3 PZT/polymer composite and PVDF film. The lead free piezoelectric KNNLT- LS(K_0.44Na_0.52Li_0.04)(Nb_0.84Ta_0.10S_0.06b)O₃ powders and ceramics were prepared under controlled humidity and oxygen flow rate during sintering. Due to its moderate longitudinal piezoelectric charge coefficient (175 pC/N) and k_t of 0.50, the KNN-LT-LS composition may be a good candidate for highfrequency transducer applications. PZT fibers with 25 μm diameter formed by the viscose suspension spinning process were incorporated into epoxy to fabricate 1-3 composites with the averaged k_t = 0.64 and d₃₃ = 400 pC/N. Using KNN-LS-LT ceramic, 1-3 PZT fiber composite, and PVDF film, 3 different unfocused single element transducers with center frequencies of 25 MHz were fabricated. The acoustic characterization of the transducers demonstrated that wideband and low insertion loss could be obtained employing KNN-LS-LT ceramic. The ?6 dB bandwidth and insertion loss were 70% and ?21 dB, respectively. In comparison, the insertion loss of the ceramic transducer was much smaller than those made with 1-3 composite and PVDF film. This was attributed to closer electrical impedance match to 50 Ω and higher thickness coupling coefficient of the ceramic transducer.     

Thermal neutron cross-section and resonance integral for Dy(n,γ)Dy reaction

The thermal neutron cross-section (σ₀) and the resonance integral (I₀) of the reaction ¹⁶⁴Dy(n,γ)¹⁶⁵Dy were measured by the activation method, using ⁵⁵Mn(n,γ)⁵⁵Mn monitor reaction as a single comparator. The diluted MnO₂ and Dy₂O₃ powder samples within and without a cylindrical Cd shield case were irradiated in an isotropic neutron field obtained from the ²⁴¹Am–Be neutron sources, moderated with paraffin wax. The γ-ray spectra from the irradiated samples were measured by high-resolution γ-ray spectrometry with a calibrated n-type Ge detector. The necessary correction factors for γ-ray attenuation, thermal neutron and resonance neutron self-shielding effects and epithermal neutron spectrum shape factor () were taken into account in the determinations. The thermal neutron cross-section for ¹⁶⁴Dy(n,γ)¹⁶⁵Dy reaction studied has been determined to be 2672±104 b at 0.025 eV. This result has been obtained relative to the reference thermal neutron cross-section value of 13.3±0.1 b for the ⁵⁵Mn(n,γ)⁵⁶Mn reaction. For the thermal neutron cross-section, most of the experimental data and evaluated one in ENDF/B-VI, in general, are in good agreement with the present result. The resonance integral has also been measured relative to the reference value of 14.0±0.3 b for the ⁵⁵Mn(n,γ)⁵⁶Mn monitor reaction using a 1/E¹⁺ epithermal neutron spectrum of the ²⁴¹Am–Be neutron source. By defining Cd cut-off energy 0.55 eV, the resonance integral obtained was 527±89 b. The existing experimental and evaluated data for the resonance integral are distributed from 335 to 820 b. The present resonance integral value agrees with some previously reported values, 520 b by Holden, 505 b by Simonits et al. and 575±100 b by Heft, within the limits of error.     

The CPLEAR electromagnetic calorimeter

A large-acceptance lead/gas sampling electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) was constructed for the CPLEAR experiment to detect photons from decays of π⁰s with momentum p_π⁰ ≤ 800 MeV/c. The main purpose of the ECAL is to determine the decay vertex of neutral-kaon decays K⁰ → π⁰π⁰ → 4γ and K⁰ → π⁰π⁰π⁰ → 6γ. This requires a position-sensitive photon detector with high spatial granularity in r−, −, and z−coordinates. The ECAL - a barrel without end-caps located inside a magnetic field of 0.44 T - consists of 18 identical concentric layers. Each layer of 1/3 radiation length (X₀) contains a converter plate followed by small cross-section high-gain tubes of 2640 mm active length which are sandwiched by passive pick-up strip plates. The ECAL, with a total of 6X₀ has an energy resolution of and a position resolution of 4.5 mm for the shower foot. The shower topology allows separation of electrons from pions. The design, construction, read-out electronics, and performance of the detector are described.     

Simple model for piezoelectric ceramic/polymer 1-3 composites used in ultrasonic transducer applications

A theoretical model is presented for combining parameters of 1-3 ultrasonic composite materials in order to predict ultrasonic characteristics such as velocity, acoustic impedance, electromechanical coupling factor, and piezoelectric coefficients. Hence, the model allows the estimation of resonance frequencies of 1-3 composite transducers. This model has been extended to cover more material parameters, and they are compared to experimental results up to PZT volume fraction ν of 0.8. The model covers calculation of piezoelectric charge constants d₃₃ and d₃₁. Values are found to be in good agreement with experimental results obtained for PZT 7A/Araldite D 1-3 composites. The acoustic velocity, acoustic impedance, and electromechanical coupling factor are predicted and found to be close to the values determined experimentally     

High-frequency membrane hydrophone

A membrane hydrophone with a 37-μm diameter spot poled electrode has been fabricated on a 4-μm-thick film of the piezoelectric copolymer, polyvinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE), and initially characterized. The hydrophone has an effective spot size of less than 100 μm, an on-membrane +7-dB gain buffer amplifier, and a -3-dB bandwidth of 150 MHz. The acoustic properties of the hydrophone were investigated with a transducer equivalent circuit model, the electric fringe fields due to poling were characterized with a finite difference electrostatic field model, and the effective spot diameters 2a₃ and 2a₆ were estimated. Measurements on the bandwidth, effective spot size, and sensitivity are presented. This hydrophone appears suitable for the characterization of both the frequency and spatial parameters of high-frequency transducers such as intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheter transducers operating in the 10-40 MHz range     

高分辨X射线衍射表征氮化镓外延层缺陷密度

利用高分辨X射线衍射方法, 分析了在4H-SiC(0001)面上采用金属有机物化学气相沉积(MOCVD)生长的GaN薄膜的位错。采用对称面衍射和斜对称面衍射等方法研究了晶面倾转角、面内扭转角、晶粒尺寸和晶面弯曲半径等参数, 通过排除仪器、晶粒尺寸及晶面弯曲对摇摆曲线半高宽的影响, 从而获得GaN薄膜的螺位错密度和刃位错密度分别为4.62×10⁷ cm^-2和5.20×10⁹ cm^-2, 总位错密度为5.25×10⁹ cm^-2。     

Neutron energy spectrum measurements of neutron sources with an NE-213 spectrometer

The neutron energy spectra of the following sources were measured using a fast-neutron spectrometer with NE-213 liquid scintillator: ²⁵²Cf, Am-Be and T(d, n)⁴He from a Van de Graaff accelerator (400 keV). The measured proton recoil pulse-height data were unfolded using the FANTI code to obtain the neutron energy spectrum. The spectrometer gives neutron spectra in the range of 2–16 MeV, with 6% intrinsic efficiency and a resolution between 4% and 11%. The ²⁵²Cf neutron energy spectrum was measured and the results obtained showed good agreement with the spectrum usually published in the literature, which can be fitted by the expression N(E) =√E exp(− E/T) with the constant T = 1.42 MeV.     

Sm掺杂增强PZT基弛豫型铁电陶瓷压电性能研究

锆钛酸铅(PZT)基压电陶瓷是一类应用非常广泛的功能材料, 可应用于水声换能器、压电马达、医疗超声换能器以及声表面波滤波器等。通过改性提高PZT基压电陶瓷的压电性能一直是该领域的研究热点。本工作采用传统固相反应法制备了准同型相界(Morphotropic Phase Boundary, MPB)组分的Sm-0.25PMN-0.75PZT压电陶瓷, 并对其微观结构以及宏观性能进行了系统研究。研究结果表明：引入Sm³⁺可以增强压电陶瓷的局域结构异质性, 提升介电响应从而提高压电性能。当Sm³⁺引入过多时, 铁电极化的长程连续性被大面积打断, 压电性能下降。本实验中得到的最优组分压电陶瓷性能为：高压电系数d₃₃~824 pC/N, 高压电电压常数g₃₃~27.1×10^-3 m²/C和相对较高居里温度T_C~178 ℃, 电致应变在室温至150 ℃范围内低于5%, 有较好的温度稳定性, 是极具应用前景的高性能压电材料。     

Ultrasonic thin-walled tube wave structure for sensing devices

Theoretical and experimental investigations of thin-walled tube acoustic wave devices for gravimetric sensing applications are presented. Integrated sensor configurations have been demonstrated by employing a sol-gel processed thin piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) film. This was coated coaxially on stainless steel tubes and interdigital transducers (IDT) fabricated as the transmitter and receiver on the curved tube surfaces. We have observed tube waves along both the axial and circumferential directions between 1 and 6.6 MHz. We have also analyzed the mass sensitivities of different modes propagating along the tubes and shown that high mass sensitivity can be achieved by keeping the tube wall thin     

A fission-fragment-sensitive target for X-ray spectroscopy in neutron-induced fission

A fission-fragment-sensitive detector built for low-energy photon spectroscopy applications at the WNR “white” neutron source at Los Alamos is described. The detector consists of eight layers of thin photovoltaic cells, onto which 1 mg/cm² of pure ²³⁸U is deposited. The detector serves as an active target to select fission events from background and other reaction channels. The fairly small thickness of the detector with respect to transmission of 20–50 keV photons permits the measurement of prompt fission-fragment X-rays. Results with the GEANIE photon spectrometer are presented.     

稀土氧化物对SPS烧结AlN陶瓷电性能的影响

以AlN粉末为原料, 添加稀土氧化物(Sm₂O₃、Y₂O₃), 在氮气气氛下, 采用SPS烧结方法制备AlN陶瓷, 研究稀土氧化物的掺杂对AlN烧结试样相组成、微观结构和电性能的影响。实验表明: Sm₂O₃、Y₂O₃与Al₂O₃反应生成的液相稀土金属铝酸盐会提高AlN陶瓷致密度, 且在晶界处形成导电通路降低了AlN陶瓷电阻率。随着Sm₂O₃掺杂量的增加, 晶界相逐渐由Sm₄Al₂O₉过渡到SmAlO₃, 且Sm₄Al₂O₉对电阻率贡献最大。其中, 3wt% Sm₂O₃掺杂AlN陶瓷电阻率最低, 为      

Design considerations for thin film coated semiconductor thermal neutron detectors—I: basics regarding alpha particle emitting neutron reactive films

Semiconductor-based thermal neutron detectors provide a compact technology for neutron detection and imaging. Such devices can be produced by externally coating semiconductor-charged-particle detectors with neutron reactive films that convert free neutrons into charged-particle reaction products. Commonly used films for such devices utilize the ¹⁰B(n,)⁷Li reaction or the ⁶Li(n,)³H reaction, which are attractive due to the relatively high energies imparted to the reaction products. Unfortunately, thin film or “foil” type thermal neutron detectors suffer from self-absorption effects that ultimately limit neutron detection efficiency. Design considerations that maximize the efficiency and performance of such devices are discussed. Theoretical and experimental results from front coated, back coated, and “sandwich” designs are presented.     

The sat calorimeter of the DELPHI experiment at LEP; results of a module test

The construction of an electromagnetic calorimeter using scintillating plastic fibres and lead plates is described. The calorimeter is part of the Small Angle Tagger (SAT) of the DELPHI experiment at the LEP collider, recording high-energy electrons, positrons and photons. Results from a test of a module of similar construction are presented. The module was found to have a linear energy response when exposed to electrons of 10–70 GeV, with an energy resolution given by σ/E[%] = (1.16² + (11.4/√E[GeV])²)^1/2.     

Three-detector setup for positron-lifetime spectroscopy of solids containing Co radionuclide

A three-detector BaF₂ positron-lifetime spectrometer is described. The spectrometer is suited for investigations of the neutron-irradiated reactor pressure vessel steels with a high content of ⁶⁰Co. Both timing and energy information about annihilation γ-rays is used for selection of coincidence events. In the triple-coincidence mode, the time resolution of around 220 ps FWHM and the coincidence count rate of 15 s⁻¹ for a 4 MBq ²²Na positron source are simultaneously achieved. Test measurements performed have shown that in this mode the ⁶⁰Co prompt-peak contribution in the positron-lifetime spectrum is suppressed to be below 1% when ⁶⁰Co activity of a pair of specimens studied does not exceed the level of 4 MBq.     

First application of calorimetric low-temperature detectors in accelerator mass spectrometry

For the first time, calorimetric low-temperature detectors were applied in accelerator mass spectrometry, a well-known method for determination of very small isotope ratios with high sensitivity. The aim of the experiment was to determine with high accuracy the isotope ratio of ²³⁶U/²³⁸U for several samples of natural uranium, ²³⁶U being known as a sensitive monitor for neutron flux. Measurements were performed at the VERA tandem accelerator at Vienna, Austria. The detectors consist of sapphire absorbers and superconducting transition edge thermometers operated at T≈ 1.5 K. The relative energy resolution obtained for 17.39 MeV ²³⁸U is ΔE/E=4–9×10⁻³, depending on the experimental conditions. This performance enabled to substantially reduce background from neighbouring isotopes and to increase the detection efficiency. Due to the high sensitivity achieved, a value of ²³⁶U/²³⁸U=6.5×10⁻¹² could be obtained, representing the smallest ²³⁶U/²³⁸U ratio measured until now.     

(Ag2Se)1-x(Bi2Se3)x的热电性能研究

具有本征低晶格热导率的I-V-VI₂族三元硫属化合物在热电领域引起了广泛关注。AgBiSe₂作为这类化合物中少有的n型半导体, 成为一种有潜力的热电材料。本工作系统研究了AgBiSe₂的热电性能。基于Ag₂Se-Bi₂Se二元相图, 单相的(Ag₂Se)_1-x(Bi₂Se₃)_x的成分在x=0.4~0.62范围可调, 使得该材料载流子浓度具有可调性。结果表明, 通过组分调控获得了较宽范围的载体浓度1.0×10¹⁹~5.7×10¹⁹ cm^-3, 并基于声学声子散射的单一抛物带模型对其电传输性能进行了综合评估。本研究获得的最高载流子浓度接近理论最优值, 在700 K实现了最高ZT值0.5。本研究有助于深入理解AgBiSe₂的传输特性和决定热电性能的基本物理参数。     

Monte Carlo calculation of the response function for a He neutron spectrometer

The response of a gridded ³He ionization chamber to monoenergetic neutrons has been calculated using a Monte Carlo approach. The effects of neutron scattering on detector materials, wall effects, recoil continua and background neutrons are included. The calculated results are smoothed according to a peak shape taken from experiment. Response functions in the energy range E_n < 1217 keV are compared to experimental data obtained with the ⁷Li(p, n)⁷Be reaction and to the detector efficiency derived from them.     

GdI3:Ce晶体的生长及其闪烁性能研究

通过坩埚下降法生长GdI₃:2%Ce及无掺杂GdI₃闪烁晶体, 得到ϕ15 mm×20 mm的晶体毛坯, 从中加工出尺寸分别为12 mm×10 mm×2.5 mm和11 mm×8 mm×2.5 mm的无包裹体、无开裂的晶体样品, 封装后检测该晶体光学性能。XRD分析结果表明: 掺杂晶体GdI₃:2%Ce与无掺杂GdI₃晶体结构相同。X射线激发发射(XEL)和紫外激发发射谱(PL)测试结果显示: GdI₃:2%Ce晶体在450~700 nm有宽带发光峰, 发光峰位分别位于520 nm和550 nm, 对应于Ce³⁺的5d-4f跃迁发光。以550 nm为监控波长, 测得在紫外激发下存在三个激发峰, 分别位于262、335和440 nm。GdI₃:2%Ce晶体在¹³⁷Cs源伽马射线(662 keV) 激发下能量分辨率为3.4%, 通过高斯拟合得到的衰减时间为58±3 ns。研究表明, GdI₃:2%Ce晶体是一种良好的伽马和中子探测材料, 具有广泛的应用前景。