Improved solid-state neutron detection device

The detection of illicit nuclear sources and SNM requires a ubiquitous network of sensors. While ³He proportional counters are excellent neutron detectors, there is an insufficient global supply of ³He to create the required number of detectors. Alternatives to ³He must be efficient, insensitive to gamma radiation, easily manufactured, rugged, and inexpensive to enable the procurement of a large numbers of sensors. The use of a high sensitivity solid-state optical detector coupled to scintillation materials, loaded with a neutron absorber such as ⁶Li can fulfill these design constraints. We are developing a neutron detector with low-cost CMOS solid-state photomultiplier and with emerging, interesting scintillation material like Cs₂LiYCl₆:Ce (CLYC). This will provide better performance than ³He tube in terms of efficiency and gamma rejection rate. In this work, we show some simulations and measurements made to quantify the performance of the detector system.