Sensitivity of hybrid resistive plate chambers to low-energy neutrons

We present the design and the performance of hybrid resistive plate chambers (RPCs). In particular, the electrodes of RPCs were coated with the Gd2O3 or LiF powder in order to enhance the sensitivity to low-energy neutrons. The efficiencies were measured by using the 262Cf source at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. After the background had been properly subtracted, the neutron detection efficiency was determined to be about 4% and 8% for the Gd-coated single- and double-gap RPCs, respectively, at an incident energy peaking at ∼ 75 meV. For the LiF-coated double-gap RPC, the efficiency was about 1.2% slightly depending on the threshold of electronics.