Testing of an Organic Metal Halide Perovskite for Fast Neutron Detection

Authors

Wyatt Panaccione, The Ohio State University
Zhifang Shi, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Praneeth Kandlakunta, The Ohio State University
Taylor M. Nichols, Air Force Institute of Technology
Susan White, The Ohio State University
Jinsong Huang, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lei R. Cao, The Ohio State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2024

Department

Department of Engineering Physics

School or Division

Graduate School of Engineering and Management

Digital Object Identifier

10.1016/j.nima.2024.169340

Source Publication

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment (ISSN 0168-9002 | e-ISSN 1872-9576)

Abstract

In this work, we synthesized and characterized the Methylhydrazinium Lead Trichloride MHyPbCl₃(CH₃NH₂NH₂PbCl₃) perovskite as a fast neutron detector. The high hydrogen density of MHyPbCl3 enables efficient energy conversion from a fast neutron into a recoiled proton through the 1H(n,n)1H elastic scattering interaction, thereby, allowing for direct charge detection. Through IV characterization and X-Ray excitation, the crystal demonstrated a high resistivity at 4.43E11 ω cm and a good mobility-lifetime product (μτ) of 9.1E-3 ^cm2/_V respectively, under C₆₀/BCP/Cu and Au contact configuration to form an ohmic-ohmic detector. The crystal showed a good sensitivity to X-rays using an x-ray tube. The feasibility of the direct neutron conversion detector is demonstrated using the fast neutron beam at a Research Reactor. Waveforms from a charge-sensitive pre-amplifier showed distinct radiation-induced pulses from the MHyPbCl₃ detector in response to the reactor neutron beam. Using a thermal neutron filter and gamma shielding in the beam, we showed that the pulses produced were more likely from neutron interactions, despite the Pb containing MHyPbCl₃ is also sensitive to gamma-rays. With those fast neutron pulses, a post-pulse processing code was used to conduct pulse height analysis (PHA) and reconstruct an energy spectrum.

Comments

© 2024 The Authors.

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Recommended Citation

Panaccione, W., Shi, Z., Kandlakunta, P., Nichols, T., White, S., Huang, J., & Cao, L. R. (2024). Testing of an organic metal halide perovskite for fast neutron detection. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 1064, 169340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2024.169340