High-spatial-resolution neutron image detector based on wavelength-shifting fiber read out for time-of-flight measurements

A wavelength-shifting-fiber based neutron image detector with a spatial resolution of less 200 ¿m was developed. The detector had a capability of neutron imaging with a temporal resolution of several ¿s. The detector equipped with a ZnS/⁶LiF scintillator where the scintillation light was read out with individual fibers based on a photon counting method. The fiber-optic tapers (FOTs) were implemented in between the scintillator and the fibers to magnify a neutron image. The prototype detector that equipped with the FOTs exhibited the spatial resolution that was improved by an order better compared that with the original detector. This kind of detector would be a unique and powerful tool for the energy-selective neutron radiography at a pulsed neutron source.