Feasibility study of fast neutron yield measurement with 4H-SiC detector

BackgroundFast neutron detectors based on 4H-SiC semiconductor materials have incomparable advantages over traditional neutron detectors when used in strong radiation and high temperature environments, such as fusion plasma diagnosis, core power monitoring, and neutron oil/gas logging, because they have large threshold displacement energy, wide band gap, and fast saturation speed.PurposeThis study aims to explore the feasibility of fast neutron yield measurement by using 4H-SiC detector.MethodsFirst of all, the main performance of 4H-SiC fast neutron detector was tested by experiments using the high intensity deuterium-tritium fusion neutron generator (HINEG). Then, the reaction characteristic peak of 12C(n,α0)9Be in the high energy section was observed in pulse amplitude spectrum. The full width at half maxima (FWHM) and energy resolution were calculated.ResultsThe experimental results show that the neutron detection efficiency to fast neutrons (εE) is 8.89×10-6 n-1·cm-2 (±7.7%),FWHM (full width at half maxima) of the characteristic peak of 12C(n,α0)9Be is 190 keV, and the energy resolution is 2.26%.ConclusionsThis study verifies that the 4H-SiC fast neutron detector can be used for neutron yield measurement.