https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2013-13009-8
Special Article - Tools for Experiment and Theory
An endoscopic detector for ultracold neutrons
1
Laboratory for Particle Physics, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232, Villigen-PSI, Switzerland
2
Institute for Particle Physics, Zürich, Switzerland
3
Regis University, 80221, Denver, CO, USA
4
Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire, Université de Caen, CNRS/IN2P3, Caen, France
* e-mail: bernhard.lauss@psi.ch
Received:
14
May
2012
Revised:
18
October
2012
Accepted:
19
December
2012
Published online:
21
January
2013
A new versatile detector for ultracold neutrons (UCN) has been built and operated which combines multi-pixel photon counters and GS10 lithium-doped scintillators. Such detectors can be very small and can be used to monitor UCN inside storage vessels or guides with negligible influence (of order 10−6 on the UCN intensity itself. We have shown that such detectors can be used in a very harsh radiation environment of up to 200Gy/h via the addition of a 4m long quartz light guide in order to place the radiation-sensitive photon counters outside the hot zone. Additionally we have measured the UCN storage times in situ in this harsh environment.
© SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2013