A thermal neutron detector based on single-crystalline silicon

It is shown that a change in the specific electrical conductivity (SEC) in silicon single crystals after irradiation and radiation defect annealing is directly proportional to the thermal neutron fluence. This fact is used as a basis of a method for measuring the neutron flux. In this case, the proportionality factor is dependent on the neutron spectrum, being independent of the initial SEC, which significantly simplifies detector calibration. In measurements of the thermal neutron fluence in terms of relative and absolute units, the rms was 4 and 8%, respectively.