Erschienen:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022
Erschienen in:The European Physical Journal Plus
Sprache:
Englisch
DOI:
10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02523-y
ISSN:
2190-5444
Entstehung:
Anmerkungen:
Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Neutron applications and detection are of paramount importance in industry, medicine, scientific research, homeland security, production of extreme UV optics and so on. Neutron detection requires a converter element that, as a result of its interaction with neutrons, produces reaction products (mainly charged particles) whose detection can be correlated with the neutron flux. Reduced availability and increased cost of the most used converter element, <jats:sup>3</jats:sup>He, have triggered research efforts for alternative materials, proper deposition methods and new detector architectures. <jats:sup>10</jats:sup>B converter is a valid alternative to <jats:sup>3</jats:sup>He thanks to its high thermal neutron cross section and relatively high Q value. In this paper we report on the room temperature Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) of high quality and uniform <jats:sup>10</jats:sup>B films with the expected density, different thickness values (0.5, 1.0, 1.2, 1.5 and 2.0 μm) and uniform thickness over a circular area of about 30 mm in diameter. Additionally, they are adherent to the substrate with a negligible presence of contaminants. The conversion properties of such <jats:sup>10</jats:sup>B coatings coupled to a Si solid state detector are studied upon exposure to a neutron flux from an Am-Be neutron source (2.2·10<jats:sup>6</jats:sup> n/s). The experimental results, compared with spectra simulated by using a GEANT4 code, present a good agreement and efficiencies of the order of a few percent.</jats:p>