Personal Neutron Detector Based on Cadmium Telluride

Lithium Innovations will explore the fabrication of a prototype, low-cost neutron detector based on a Li-6 sensitized cadmium-telluride semiconductor detector. The detector will be demonstrated to have high sensitivity to thermal neutrons, be very robust and configured as a pager neutron detector. The effort will build on Lithium Innovations unique expertise in forming lithium sheets for sputter targets in the glass industry and in supplying Li-6 sensitizer foils to R&D groups for neutron conversion into alpha particles and tritons. The project will leverage the recent development by subcontractor, Lucintech Inc, of thin-film, sputtered CdTe photovoltaic solar cells and modules. The detector design will also take advantage of recently developed flexible glass produced by Corning Incorporated. The thin, flexible glass will permit light weight detectors even for larger, more sensitive sizes. The detector is based on polycrystalline CdTe which provides much higher radiation hardness than Si-based detectors. Prototypes will be fabricated with processes scalable to large areas which opens the potential for large-area neutron detectors and low-cost manufacturing.