4D Tomography for neutron depth profiling applications

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Vol. 1065; p. 169543
• Main Authors: Neagu, R., Golenev, S., Werner, L., Berner, C., Gilles, R., Revay, Z., Ziegele, L., Plomp, J., Märkisch, B., Gernhäuser, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-08-2024
• Subjects: Double-sided silicon strip detector; FRM II; N4DP-instrument; Neutron depth profiling; RID; Self-triggering electronics; Self-triggering electronics; Neutron depth profiling; N4DP-instrument; Double-sided silicon strip detector; RID; FRM II
• ISSN: 0168-9002; 1872-9576
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2024.169543

High-rate Neutron Depth Profiling (NDP) is a very efficient and precise probe for studying the evolution of lithium concentration in thin-layer structures, e.g., battery electrodes. NDP is typically limited to a one-dimensional depth analysis summed over the profile area covered by the neutron beam. We developed a detector system based on double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSSD) with extremely thin and homogeneous entrance windows to provide a new quality of NDP measurements in 3+1 dimensions for the N4DP instrument at the FRM II in Garching, Germany. Using the 6Li(n, α)3H reaction in an experiment conducted at the research reactor in Delft, we achieved a lateral position resolution down to ∼100μm and an energy resolution with FWHM≈10keV for the triton particles at energies of 2.7MeV. High-resolution 3D pictures with a contrast uncertainty <10% per pixel can be achieved faster than 1 picture per minute. This rate can be adjusted individually for each experiment by sacrificing granularity in the position measurement.