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Neutron reflectometry on highly absorbing films and its application to (B4C)-B-10-based neutron detectors

Piscitelli, Francesco LU ; Khaplanov, Anton LU ; Devishvili, A. ; Schmidt, S. ; Höglund, Carina LU ; Birch, J. ; Dennison, A. J. C. ; Gutfreund, P. ; Hall-Wilton, Richard LU and Van Esch, P. (2016) In Royal Society of London. Proceedings A. Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 472(2185).
Abstract
Neutron reflectometry is a powerful tool used for studies of surfaces and interfaces. The absorption in the typical studied materials is neglected and this technique is limited only to the reflectivity measurement. For strongly absorbing nuclei, the absorption can be directly measured by using the neutron-induced fluorescence technique which exploits the prompt particle emission of absorbing isotopes. This technique is emerging from soft matter and biology where highly absorbing nuclei, in very small quantities, are used as a label for buried layers. Nowadays, the importance of absorbing layers is rapidly increasing, partially because of their application in neutron detection; a field that has become more active also due to the... (More)
Neutron reflectometry is a powerful tool used for studies of surfaces and interfaces. The absorption in the typical studied materials is neglected and this technique is limited only to the reflectivity measurement. For strongly absorbing nuclei, the absorption can be directly measured by using the neutron-induced fluorescence technique which exploits the prompt particle emission of absorbing isotopes. This technique is emerging from soft matter and biology where highly absorbing nuclei, in very small quantities, are used as a label for buried layers. Nowadays, the importance of absorbing layers is rapidly increasing, partially because of their application in neutron detection; a field that has become more active also due to the He-3-shortage. We extend the neutron-induced fluorescence technique to the study of layers of highly absorbing materials, in particular (B4C)-B-10. The theory of neutron reflectometry is a commonly studied topic; however, when a strong absorption is present the subtle relationship between the reflection and the absorption of neutrons is not widely known. The theory for a general stack of absorbing layers has been developed and compared to measurements. We also report on the requirements that a (B4C)-B-10 layer must fulfil in order to be employed as a converter in neutron detection. (Less)
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; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
neutron-induced fluorescence, neutron reflectometry, boron-10, neutron, detection
in
Royal Society of London. Proceedings A. Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
volume
472
issue
2185
article number
20150711
publisher
Royal Society Publishing
external identifiers
  • wos:000368479000021
  • scopus:84956858436
  • pmid:26997902
ISSN
1364-5021
DOI
10.1098/rspa.2015.0711
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6f0730e9-4bc7-44d7-a8bc-4d36e2e69da9 (old id 8738856)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:52:28
date last changed
2022-02-11 17:55:23
@article{6f0730e9-4bc7-44d7-a8bc-4d36e2e69da9,
  abstract     = {{Neutron reflectometry is a powerful tool used for studies of surfaces and interfaces. The absorption in the typical studied materials is neglected and this technique is limited only to the reflectivity measurement. For strongly absorbing nuclei, the absorption can be directly measured by using the neutron-induced fluorescence technique which exploits the prompt particle emission of absorbing isotopes. This technique is emerging from soft matter and biology where highly absorbing nuclei, in very small quantities, are used as a label for buried layers. Nowadays, the importance of absorbing layers is rapidly increasing, partially because of their application in neutron detection; a field that has become more active also due to the He-3-shortage. We extend the neutron-induced fluorescence technique to the study of layers of highly absorbing materials, in particular (B4C)-B-10. The theory of neutron reflectometry is a commonly studied topic; however, when a strong absorption is present the subtle relationship between the reflection and the absorption of neutrons is not widely known. The theory for a general stack of absorbing layers has been developed and compared to measurements. We also report on the requirements that a (B4C)-B-10 layer must fulfil in order to be employed as a converter in neutron detection.}},
  author       = {{Piscitelli, Francesco and Khaplanov, Anton and Devishvili, A. and Schmidt, S. and Höglund, Carina and Birch, J. and Dennison, A. J. C. and Gutfreund, P. and Hall-Wilton, Richard and Van Esch, P.}},
  issn         = {{1364-5021}},
  keywords     = {{neutron-induced fluorescence; neutron reflectometry; boron-10; neutron; detection}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2185}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
  series       = {{Royal Society of London. Proceedings A. Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences}},
  title        = {{Neutron reflectometry on highly absorbing films and its application to (B4C)-B-10-based neutron detectors}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2015.0711}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rspa.2015.0711}},
  volume       = {{472}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}