Proton-recoil detectors for time-of-flight measurements of neutrons with kinetic energies from some tens of keV to a few MeV

At the nELBE time-of-flight facility at Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf fast neutrons are produced by the electron beam from the superconducting accelerator ELBE impinging on a liquid lead circuit as a radiator. The short beam pulses of about 10 ps provide the basis for an excellent time resolution for neutron time-of-flight experiments. An energy resolution below 1 % at 1 MeV with a short flight path of ca. 6 m can be reached with a time-of-flight resolution of 1 ns.