Simulation of the impact of using a novel neutron conversion screen on detector time characteristics and efficiency

To directly measure the DT neutrons from inertial confinement fusion with a high time resolution, a new type of neutron conversion composed of a CH2 conversion layer, a metal moderation layer, and a CsI secondary electron emission layer is proposed. The conversion screen is based on the principle that recoil protons produced by elastic scattering of the neutrons in CH2 interact with CsI to generate secondary electrons. The moderation layer can filter the energy spectrum of protons to prevent low-energy protons from reaching CsI, which shortens the duration of the secondary electron pulse and improves the temporal resolution of the conversion screen. Based on the Monte Carlo method, both the neutron impulse and background γ-rays response of this conversion screen were calculated. The simulation indicates that the temporal resolution of the conversion screen can reach up to 4.9 ps when the thickness of the gold layer is 100 µm. The detection efficiency of secondary electrons/neutrons can reach 7.4 × 10−3. The detection efficiency of the neutron conversion screen for secondary electrons/γ-rays is an order of magnitude lower than the neutron impulse response, and the response time of γ-rays is 20 ps earlier than the neutron pulses. This means that using this conversion screen is beneficial to distinguish between neutrons and γ-rays and has a good signal-to-noise ratio.