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Register a new userA multilayer surface detector for ultracold neutrons
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A multilayer surface detector for ultracold neutrons (UCNs) is described. The top $^{10}$B layer is exposed to the vacuum chamber and directly captures UCNs. The ZnS:Ag layer beneath the $^{10}$B layer is a few microns thick, which is sufficient to detect the charged particles from the $^{10}$B(n,$alpha$)$^7$Li neutron-capture reaction, while thin enough so that ample light due to $alpha$ and $^7$Li escapes for detection by photomultiplier tubes. One-hundred-nm thick $^{10}$B layer gives high UCN detection efficiency, as determined by the mean UCN kinetic energy, detector materials and others. Low background, including negligible sensitivity to ambient neutrons, has also been verified through pulse-shape analysis and comparisons with other existing $^3$He and $^{10}$B detectors. This type of detector has been configured in different ways for UCN flux monitoring, development of UCN guides and neutron lifetime research.
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We report on the design and first tests of a device allowing for measurement of ultracold neutrons polarisation by means of the simultaneous analysis of the two spin components. The device was developed in the framework of the neutron electric dipole moment experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. Individual parts and the entire newly built system have been characterised with ultracold neutrons. The gain in statistical sensitivity obtained with the simultaneous spin analyser is $(18.2pm6.1)%$ relative to the former sequential analyser under nominal running conditions.
A pixel detector with high spatial resolution and temporal information for ultra-cold neutrons is developed based on a commercial CCD on which a neutron converter is attached. 10B and 6Li are tested for the neutron converter and 10B is found to be more suitable based on efficiency and spatial resolution. The pixel detector has an efficiency of 44.1 +- 1.1% and a spatial resolution of 2.9 +- 0.1 um (1 sigma).
We installed a source for ultracold neutrons at a new, dedicated spallation target at TRIUMF. The source was originally developed in Japan and uses a superfluid-helium converter cooled to 0.9$,$K. During an extensive test campaign in November 2017, we extracted up to 325000 ultracold neutrons after a one-minute irradiation of the target, over three times more than previously achieved with this source. The corresponding ultracold-neutron density in the whole production and guide volume is 5.3$,$cm$^{-3}$. The storage lifetime of ultracold neutrons in the source was initially 37$,$s and dropped to 24$,$s during the eighteen days of operation. During continuous irradiation of the spallation target, we were able to detect a sustained ultracold-neutron rate of up to 1500$,$s$^{-1}$. Simulations of UCN production, UCN transport, temperature-dependent UCN yield, and temperature-dependent storage lifetime show excellent agreement with the experimental data and confirm that the ultracold-neutron-upscattering rate in superfluid helium is proportional to $T^7$.
A new boron-coated CCD camera is described for direct detection of ultracold neutrons (UCN) through the capture reactions $^{10}$B (n,$alpha$0$gamma$)$^7$Li (6%) and $^{10}$B(n,$alpha$1$gamma$)$^7$Li (94%). The experiments, which extend earlier works using a boron-coated ZnS:Ag scintillator, are based on direct detections of the neutron-capture byproducts in silicon. The high position resolution, energy resolution and particle ID performance of a scientific CCD allows for observation and identification of all the byproducts $alpha$, $^7$Li and $gamma$ (electron recoils). A signal-to-noise improvement on the order of 10$^4$ over the indirect method has been achieved. Sub-pixel position resolution of a few microns is demonstrated. The technology can also be used to build UCN detectors with an area on the order of 1 m$^2$. The combination of micrometer scale spatial resolution, few electrons ionization thresholds and large area paves the way to new research avenues including quantum physics of UCN and high-resolution neutron imaging and spectroscopy.
A new intense superthermal source for ultracold neutrons (UCN) has been installed at a dedicated beam line at the Institut Laue-Langevin. Incident neutrons with a wavelength of 0.89 nm are converted to UCN in a five liter volume filled with superfluid $^4$He at a temperature of about 0.7 K. The UCN can be extracted to room temperature experiments. We present the cryogenic setup of the source, a characterization of the cold neutron beam, and UCN production measurements, where a UCN density in the production volume of at least 55 per cm$^3$ was determined.
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