Cryogenic neutron detector by InSb semiconductor detector with high-density helium-3 gas converter

Nakamura, Tatsuya; Katagiri, Masaki; Aratono, Yasuyuki; Kanno, Ikuo*; Hishiki, Shigeomi*; Sugiura, Osamu*; Murase, Yasuhiro*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 520(1-3), p.76 - 79, 2004/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2003.11.225

The neutron-detection characteristics of a cryogenic neutron detector comprising an InSb semiconductor detector and a helium-3 gas converter were evaluated at a gas pressure of up to 12.5atm at 4.2K. The detector successfully detected stable neutrons under these conditions, where the density of the helium-3 gas is a few-hundred times higher than that at room temperature. It was found that the neutron detection efficiency was correlated with the gas pressure - even in a backward-detection configuration - in low-temperature, high-pressure helium-3.