Recent advances in semiconductor processing technology have enabled development of a solid-state neutron sensor with exceptional efficiency for its unique reduced size. The boron-10 ( $n$ , alpha) capture reaction is used to detect incident thermal neutrons. This reaction offers significant advantages for a small detector because the reaction products have high energies which can generate a large number of charge carriers in semiconductor materials by impact ionization. The enabling and differentiating technology of the sensor design is a stack consisting of multiple bilayers alternating between converter material (boron) and collector semiconductor material (silicon). As the number of these bilayers increases, the probability of a neutron interacting with boron-10 in at least one of the bilayers—so it is captured in the detector before it has a chance to pass through—approaches unity. The sensor can be made very thin while also remaining highly efficient, offering a unique possibility for low-profile in situ dosimetry. Calculations have shown that a multilayer sensor with an efficiency greater than 70% is feasible in a sensor stack 2 mm thick.

中文翻译：

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多层固态中子传感器


半导体加工技术的最新进展使得固态中子传感器的开发成为可能，该传感器因其独特的缩小尺寸而具有卓越的效率。硼 10（$n$，α）俘获反应用于检测入射热中子。该反应为小型探测器提供了显着的优势，因为反应产物具有高能量，可以通过碰撞电离在半导体材料中产生大量电荷载流子。传感器设计的启用和差异化技术是由转换器材料（硼）和集电极半导体材料（硅）之间交替的多个双层组成的堆栈。随着这些双层数量的增加，中子与至少其中一个双层中的硼 10 相互作用的概率（因此中子在有机会通过之前被探测器捕获）接近一。该传感器可以做得非常薄，同时保持高效，为低调的原位剂量测定提供了独特的可能性。计算表明，在 2 mm 厚的传感器堆叠中，效率大于 70% 的多层传感器是可行的。