A large area ^(3)He tube array detector with vacuum operation capacity for the SANS instrument at the CSNS

The small-angle neutron scattering(SANS)instrument,one of the first three instruments of the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS),is designed to probe the microscopic and mesoscopic structures of materials in the scale range 1–100 nm.A large-area ^(3)He tube array detector has been constructed and operates at the CSNS SANS instrument since August 2018.It consists of 120 linear position-sensitive detector tubes,each 1 m in length and 8 mm in diameter,and filled with ^(3)He gas at 20 bar to obtain a high detection efficiency.The ^(3)He tubes were divided into ten modules,providing an overall area of 1000 mm×1020 mm with a high count rate capability.Because each tube is installed independently,the detector can be quickly repaired in situ by replacing damaged tubes.To reduce air scattering,the SANS detector must operate in a vacuum environment(0.1 mbar).An all-metal sealing technique was adopted to avoid high-voltage breakdown by ensuring a high-voltage connection and an electronic system working in an atmospheric environment.A position resolution of 7.8±0.1 mm(full width at maximum)is measured along the length of the tubes,with a high detection efficiency of 81±2% at 2A.Operating over the past four years,the detector appears to perform well and with a high stability,which supports the SANS instrument to finish approximately 200 user scientific programs.

Development of 3He-filled linear position-sensitive detector for neutron scattering instruments at CSNS

Background Helium-3-filled linear position-sensitive detectors(LPSDs)have been widely applied to neutron scattering instruments in recent decades owing to the high detection efficiency,the excellent neutron/gamma discrimination,and the ability to construct the detector with large area coverage.More than 65%of neutron instruments at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)require ^(3)He LPSDs for the building of the detector system.The detector of a neutron scattering instrument is normally an array detector composed of a large number of ^(3)He LPSDs.However,no appropriate substitute detector is available for the ^(3)He LPSD for operation over a short period,and its specifications need to be customized to satisfy the requirements of different instruments.This necessitates the development of ^(3)He LPSDs with different specifications for building and upgrading the detectors of neutron scattering instruments at CSNS.Purpose To meet the general requirements specified by the neutron instruments at CSNS,a ^(3)He LPSD was developed and its performances were investigated by using the neutron beam.Methods The neutron beam experiments for this ^(3)He LPSD,including measurements of counting rate plateau curve,position calibration,and position resolution along the tube path,were carried out at the beamline-20 of CSNS.To evaluate its performance in the instrument operation,a detector module made of this ^(3)He LPSD has been installed in the multi-physics instrument(MPI),and the comparison test with the commercial ^(3)He LPSD has been conducted at neutron scattering experiments.Results and conclusion The experimental measurements for this ^(3)He LPSD based on the neutron beam showed that it satisfies the requirements for use in neutron scattering instruments.It reaches a plateau slope of 2.6%/100 V with a plateau range from 1750 to 1950 V and attained a minimal position resolution of 5.3 mm(FWHM),superior to the one achieved by the commercial ^(3)He LPSD.In addition,this ^(3)He LPSD detector module applied to the MPI has been working steadily for half of year and is available for use in experiments.These results provide a sound basis for the subsequent construction and upgradation of the detector of neutron scattering instruments at CSNS.