Experimental characterization of semiconductor-based thermal neutron detectors

In the framework of NESCOFI@BTF and NEURAPID projects, active thermal neutron detectors were manufactured by depositing appropriate thickness of 6LiF on commercially available windowless p–i–n diodes. Detectors with different radiator thickness, ranging from 5 to 62 μm, were manufactured by evaporation-based deposition technique and exposed to known values of thermal neutron fluence in two thermal neutron facilities exhibiting different irradiation geometries. The following properties of the detector response were investigated and presented in this work: thickness dependence, impact of parasitic effects (photons and epithermal neutrons), linearity, isotropy, and radiation damage following exposure to large fluence (in the order of 1012 cm−2).