Speaker
Dr
Oliver Kirstein
(European Spallation Source)
Description
Neutron scattering science - the study of materials using neutrons - is in an
exciting period, with new large facilities under construction in China (Chinese
Spallation Neutron Source), the US (second target station at the Spallation Neutron
Source) and Europe (European Spallation Source). Additionally, large upgrades in the
numbers of instruments are planned at major facilities in the US, Japan, Russia and
Europe. These upgrades create a much greater demand for detectors in terms of numbers
of instruments and their solid angle coverage in the coming decade than in the
previous one. Additionally, the requirements of a new generation of instrumentation
naturally pushes the boundaries of state-of-the-art in terms of performance. Previous
generations of performant neutron detectors used the Helium-3 isotope as the material
sensitive to neutrons; however, since 2009, the supply of Helium-3 is increasingly
rare and the prices have risen considerably- the so-called "Helium-3 Crisis".
Along with other disciplines reliant upon Helium-3 gas, the neutron scattering
community has devoted significant effort into detector development. The aim was to
mitigate the usage and demand for Helium-3 by developing replacement technologies,
but also to match the challenging performance requirements for the new generation of
instruments with creative technical solutions. This talk presents an overview of the
status and outlook of these developments, and the performance of this new generation
of neutron detectors for large scale facilities, with particular emphasis on the
developments for the European Spallation Source. A perspective towards high
resolution, high rate devices is given.
Author
Dr
Oliver Kirstein
(European Spallation Source)
