Compact MPPC-based coded aperture imaging camera for dual-particle detection

Purpose Fast neutrons and gamma-ray imaging detection is an effective way to detect and identify radioactive material in the field of nuclear security.A compact coded aperture imaging(CAI)camera was designed to be sensitive to both gamma and neutron radiation based on plastic scintillators and multi-pixel photon counters(MPPC).Methods MPPCs coupling with the 13×13 pixelated plastic scintillators one-to-one were utilized to reduce the scale of the CAI system while maintaining good positional performance.The symmetric charge division(SCD)circuit was adopted to reduce the 169 signals output from the MPPC array to 26.Each waveform was collected and processed with four Domino Ring Sampler 4(DRS4)chips and two 16-channel analog-to-digital converter(ADC)modules.As the pulse shapes of fast neutrons would be broadened after elastic scattering multiple times in the scintillators,the Anger-Logic method was applied to eliminate multiple elastic scattering events so that good pulse shape discrimination(PSD)performance can be achieved.Results The imaging and detection ability of the camerawas evaluated using the 241Am-Be(5.9×10^(5) n/s)neutron source and 137Cs(370 MBq)gammasource.The camera can be used to detect fast neutrons(0.5–10 MeV)and gammarays(0.2–2.5MeV).Furthermore,it can implement efficient neutron/gamma PSD capabilities in the mixed-field environment.The figure of merit(FOM)of the camera calculated at 400keVee energy cut is 0.93.Conclusion A compact MPPC-based CAI camera was designed to detect and discriminate fast neutrons and gamma rays.Its good PSD performance was well suited to distinguish fast neutrons from gamma rays in a dual-particle environment.The portable design makes it promising for complex monitoring scenarios in nuclear security.

Design of readout electronics based on peak-holding circuit and multiplexer for a fast neutron spectrometer

Background Fast neutron detection is meaningful in many research fields such as space environment monitoring.A scintillating fiber array model for fast neutron detection was proposed and developed in 1980s.Aerospace applications of the model require electronics in small size.Purpose To design a dedicated electronic system to readout and process the 384-channel signals from scintillating fiber array,and to use the designed system to fabricate a neutron detector for aerospace applications.Methods With the method of nuclear recoil,fast neutron is detected by tracking recoil proton of n–p scatter in scintillating plastic fibers.Using the peak-holding circuits and multiplexers,the system size and power consumption were reduced.Results The detector fabricated with the designed system,had 34 cm×34 cm×27 cm mechanical size,20.4 kg weight,and 30.05W power consumption.Comparing to traditional waveform sampling electronics,the designed electronics was highly integrated and had a small size.The readout electronics also gave a better energy resolution of 39%in neutron detection,while the energy resolution was 43%in previous version.Conclusion In this study,a highly integrated readout electronic system was designed and verified.The detector using the system gave good performance.The designed electronics had potential development in fast neutron detection and other high energy physics detection system.

Design of a high-sampling-rate electronic module for array-detector positron annihilation lifetime measurements

Introduction In this study,a high-time-resolution electronic module with a high channel density and low power consumption was designed for the measurement of the multi-detector array positron annihilation lifetimes.This electronic module consisted of 32 input channels,and each channel provided a high sampling rate up to 5.12 GSPS based on a Domino Ring Sampler 4(DRS4)chip.Compared to the high-speed flash analog-digital converter(FADC),DRS4 chip has a higher channel density with an affordable lower price and power consumption.Methods The developed electronic module was also capable of real-time data analysis for directly extracting the time information of input signals at the data acquisition site,thereby significantly decreasing the data rate.The digital constant fraction discriminator(DCFD)algorithm was implemented in the field programmable gate array(FPGA)for performing the time pick-up.Results The coincidence time resolution of the electronic module was measured,and the test results revealed a value of 26 ps.A prototypical 16-pixel detector module of the multi-detector system was evaluated using this electronic module,and the coincidence time resolution of the prototypical module was 411.84 ps.Conclusions The electronic module was confirmed to satisfy the severe requirements of the multi-array-detector positron annihilation lifetime measurement system.It was also suitable for other high-time-resolution,high-channel-density,costeffective,and low-power-consumption applications.