A handheld neutron-detection sensor system utilizing a new class of boron carbide diode

Kevin Osberg; Nathan Schemm; Sina Balkir; Jennifer I. Brand; M. Susan Hallbeck; Peter A. Dowben; Michael W. Huffman

doi:10.1109/JSEN.2006.883905

A handheld neutron-detection sensor system utilizing a new class of boron carbide diode

Kevin Osberg, Nathan Schemm, Sina Balkir, Jennifer I. Brand, M. Susan Hallbeck, Peter A. Dowben, Michael W. Huffman

Quantitative Health Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

69 Scopus citations

Abstract

A handheld neutron-detection sensor application is described in this paper. The sensor system utilizes a new class of boron carbide diode that interacts with incoming neutrons. To interface with the boron carbide diode, an integrated front end is designed in a 1.5-μm standard CMOS technology. With the diode and front-end microchip, a handheld neutron-detection system was realized with an embedded microcontroller for real-time processing. The handheld detector operation was then tested with a plutonium-beryllium neutron source. Test and measurement results confirm the validity of the approach and the functionality of the design.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1531-1537
Number of pages	7
Journal	IEEE Sensors Journal
Volume	6
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2006.883905
State	Published - Dec 2006

Keywords

Boron carbide
Charge-sensitive amplifier
Heteroisomeric diode
Neutron detection

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Instrumentation
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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10.1109/JSEN.2006.883905

Cite this

@article{c244b47658d244a99858a8fe3323e423,

title = "A handheld neutron-detection sensor system utilizing a new class of boron carbide diode",

abstract = "A handheld neutron-detection sensor application is described in this paper. The sensor system utilizes a new class of boron carbide diode that interacts with incoming neutrons. To interface with the boron carbide diode, an integrated front end is designed in a 1.5-μm standard CMOS technology. With the diode and front-end microchip, a handheld neutron-detection system was realized with an embedded microcontroller for real-time processing. The handheld detector operation was then tested with a plutonium-beryllium neutron source. Test and measurement results confirm the validity of the approach and the functionality of the design.",

keywords = "Boron carbide, Charge-sensitive amplifier, Heteroisomeric diode, Neutron detection",

author = "Kevin Osberg and Nathan Schemm and Sina Balkir and Brand, {Jennifer I.} and Hallbeck, {M. Susan} and Dowben, {Peter A.} and Huffman, {Michael W.}",

note = "Funding Information: Manuscript received November 13, 2005; revised January 19, 2006 and January 20, 2006. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant ECS-0300018, the Office of Naval Research through Grant N00014-04-1-0605, the Nebraska Research Initiative, and the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Nonproliferation Research and Engineering (NA-22) through the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The associate editor coordinating the review of this paper and approving it for publication was Prof. Eugenii Katz.",

year = "2006",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1109/JSEN.2006.883905",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "6",

pages = "1531--1537",

journal = "IEEE Sensors Journal",

issn = "1530-437X",

publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.",

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AU - Osberg, Kevin

AU - Schemm, Nathan

AU - Balkir, Sina

AU - Brand, Jennifer I.

AU - Hallbeck, M. Susan

AU - Dowben, Peter A.

AU - Huffman, Michael W.

N1 - Funding Information: Manuscript received November 13, 2005; revised January 19, 2006 and January 20, 2006. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant ECS-0300018, the Office of Naval Research through Grant N00014-04-1-0605, the Nebraska Research Initiative, and the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Nonproliferation Research and Engineering (NA-22) through the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The associate editor coordinating the review of this paper and approving it for publication was Prof. Eugenii Katz.

PY - 2006/12

Y1 - 2006/12

N2 - A handheld neutron-detection sensor application is described in this paper. The sensor system utilizes a new class of boron carbide diode that interacts with incoming neutrons. To interface with the boron carbide diode, an integrated front end is designed in a 1.5-μm standard CMOS technology. With the diode and front-end microchip, a handheld neutron-detection system was realized with an embedded microcontroller for real-time processing. The handheld detector operation was then tested with a plutonium-beryllium neutron source. Test and measurement results confirm the validity of the approach and the functionality of the design.

AB - A handheld neutron-detection sensor application is described in this paper. The sensor system utilizes a new class of boron carbide diode that interacts with incoming neutrons. To interface with the boron carbide diode, an integrated front end is designed in a 1.5-μm standard CMOS technology. With the diode and front-end microchip, a handheld neutron-detection system was realized with an embedded microcontroller for real-time processing. The handheld detector operation was then tested with a plutonium-beryllium neutron source. Test and measurement results confirm the validity of the approach and the functionality of the design.

KW - Boron carbide

KW - Charge-sensitive amplifier

KW - Heteroisomeric diode

KW - Neutron detection

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A handheld neutron-detection sensor system utilizing a new class of boron carbide diode

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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