Projection Imaging with Ultracold Neutrons

Creator(s)

K. Kuk, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
C. Cude-Woods, Los Alamos National Laboratory
C. R. Chavez, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
J. H. Choi, NC State University
J. Estrada, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
M. Hoffbauer, Los Alamos National Laboratory
S. E. Holland, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
M. Makela, Los Alamos National Laboratory
C. L. Morris, Los Alamos National Laboratory
E. Ramberg, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
E. R. Adamek, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
T. Bailey, NC State University
M. Blatnik, California Institute of Technology
L. J. Broussard, Los Alamos National Laboratory
M. A.P. Brown, University of Kentucky
N. B. Callahan, Indiana University Bloomington
S. M. Clayton, Los Alamos National Laboratory
S. Currie, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2021

Description

Ultracold neutron (UCN) projection imaging is demonstrated using a boron-coated back-illuminated CCD camera and the Los Alamos UCN source. Each neutron is recorded through the capture reactions with10B. By direct detection at least one of the byproducts α, 7Li and γ (electron recoils) derived from the neutron capture and reduction of thermal noise of the scientific CCD camera, a signal-to-noise improvement on the order of 104 over the indirect detection has been achieved. Sub-pixel position resolution of a few microns is confirmed for individual UCN events. Projection imaging of test objects shows a spatial resolution less than 100μm by an integrated UCN flux one the order of 106 cm−2. The bCCD can be used to build UCN detectors with an area on the order of 1 m2. The combination of micrometer scale spatial resolution, low readout noise of a few electrons, and large area makes bCCD suitable for quantum science of UCN.

Copyright Statement

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Citation Information

Kuk, K.; Cude-Woods, C.; Chavez, C. R.; Choi, J. H.; Estrada, J.; Hoffbauer, M.; Holland, S. E.; Makela, M.; Morris, C. L.; Ramberg, E.; Adamek, E. R.; Bailey, T.; Blatnik, M.; Broussard, L. J.; Brown, M. A.P.; Callahan, N. B.; Clayton, S. M.; and Currie, S.. 2021. Projection Imaging with Ultracold Neutrons. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. Vol.1003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2021.165306 ISSN: 0168-9002