The last decade has witnessed the development of several alternative neutron detector technologies, as a consequence of upcoming neutron sources and upgrades, as well the world-wide shortage of $^3$He. One branch of development is the family of $^{10}$B-based gaseous detectors. This work focuses on the boron coated straws (BCS) by Proportional Technologies Inc., a commercial solution designed for use in homeland security and neutron science. A detailed Geant4 simulation study of the BCS is presented, which investigates various aspects of the detector performance, e.g. efficiency, activation, absorption and the impact of scattering on the measured signal. The suitability of the BCS detector for Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), direct chopper spectrometry and imaging is discussed.
Download