A NOVEL DETECTOR FOR NEUTRON DIFFRACTION STUDIES

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A NEW TYPE OF LARGE AREA POSITION SENSITIVE NEUTRON DETECTOR FOR USE IN DIFFRACTION STUDIES. THE DETECTOR WOULD USE A LIQUID CRYSTAL SENSING MECHNISM TO PROVIDE A LARGE AREA HIGH RESOLUTION (COMPARABLE TO PHOTOGRAPHIC METHODS) DETECTORS WHICH WOULD BE INEXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE. TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS CONCEPT IN PHASE I, SEVERAL TECHNICAL AREAS NEED TO BE EXAMINED. FIRST, RESEARCH WILL BE CARRIED OUT ON MODIFYING THE SOLUTION CHEMISTRY OF THE LIQUID CRYSTAL SYSTEMS TO DETERMINE IF NEUTRON SENSITIVE BORON COMPOUNDS CAN BE INCORPORATED. SECOND, THE ELCTRO-OPTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CANDIDATE LIQUID CRYSTAL SYSTEMS WILL BE EXAMINED, AND FINALLY, THE MODIFIED LIQUID CRYSTAL SYSTEMS WILL BE TESTED FOR NEUTRON SENSITIVITY. PHASE II OF THIS EFFORT WILL CONTINUE THE RESEARCH AND EXAMINE THE FABRICATION OF PROTOTYPE POSITION SENSITIVE ARRAYS. THE DETECTOR WOULD PROVIDE SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED PERFORMANCE AT LOWER COST THAN EXISTING DETECTORS USSED IN NEUTRON DIFFRACTION STUDIES.