Boron carbide devices for neutron detection applications

The development of boron rich solid state neutron detectors has become a reality as a result of the development of a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method that results in the growth of semiconducting boron carbide films.; Electrical and structural properties of semiconducting boron carbide films grown by this method have been characterized using x-ray, Raman and Resistivity. X-ray and Raman were performed to assess the similarity of properties resulting from film growth on two different substrates. Resistivity measurements were performed at different temperatures to assess the electrical properties of the films.; Neutron detection measurements were performed with two different types of device. In addition to experimental data collection GEANT4 (GEometry ANd Tracking) Monte Carlo modeling of novel boron based neutron detectors was carried out for three different detector configurations of a boron carbide layer placed on a substrate in a cylindrical geometry with neutrons incident normal to the boron carbide layer. Additionally to prepare for future device applications GEANT was used to simulate moderation of non-thermal neutrons.