DETECTOR AND METHOD FOR DETECTING NEUTRONS

摘要

The invention relates to a neutron detector comprising a first (3a) and a second (3b) sensor device, both being sensitive to gamma rays, the first sensor device (3a) being covered with Gadolinium (5), the covered first sensor device (3a) and the second sensor device (3b) each being placed in a housing (2) consisting of or at least comprising a gamma ray attenuating material, in particular lead, the housings (2) of both sensor devices (3a, 3b) being positioned adjacent to each other in a bulk, in particular the middle of a bulk of a neutron moderating material (1). The invention furthermore relates to a method of detecting neutrons emerging from an area of interest to a neutron detector, in particular a detector according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of decelerating the neutrons to thermal energy by means of a moderator material (1), attenuating the gamma rays emitted by the moderator material (1) during the deceleration, in particular by means of lead, irradiating a first and a second sensor device (3a, 3b) which are both sensitive to gamma rays with the attenuated gamma rays, capturing the thermalised/decelerated neutrons with Gadolinium (5) and producing gamma rays in a neutron-Gadolinium-interaction, irradiating only the first sensor device (3a) and preventing irradiating of the second sensor device (3b) with the gamma rays produced in Gadolinium (5), reading a signal proportional to the received total fluence of gamma rays from both sensor devices (3a, 3b).