Response of a Liquid 3He Neutron Detector

Abstract

The 3He(n,p) process is excellent for neutron detection between thermal and ∼4 MeV because of the high cross section and near-complete energy transfer from the neutron to the proton. This process is typically used in gaseous forms with ionization readout detectors. Here we study the response of a liquid 3He neutron detector with a scintillation readout. We anticipate an efficiency boost of around a factor of 64 compared to 10-atm gaseous detectors, given similar detector volumes.