The key technology of neutron detector, "boron carbide film", is made in China, which is the largest area in the industry.

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen ZKSen for the clue delivery! CTOnews.com, October 16, according to the Science and Technology Daily official account, recently, the Chinese Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) detector team has successfully prepared large area boron carbide thin film samples with high performance to meet the needs of neutron detectors using a self-developed special device for magnetron sputtering boron plating.

▲ Tuyuan Science and Technology Daily official account CTOnews.com learned after inquiry that the single film area of the relevant film reached 1500mm × 500mm, the thickness of the film was 1 micron, and the thickness uniformity in the full size range was better than ±1.32%. It is claimed to be "the largest area of boron carbide film used for neutron detection in the world at present."

It is reported that after years of technical research and trial production, the research team has conquered the key technologies that have great influence on the coating quality, such as the manufacture of sputtering target, the selection of transition layer, and the surface treatment of substrate, and designed a special device for large area boron plating by magnetron sputtering developed by ourselves.

The researchers used this device to prepare various specifications of boron carbide thin films and successfully applied them to the ceramic GEM neutron detectors on several CSNS neutron spectrometers, thus realizing the localization of the key technologies and devices of the neutron detectors, and providing a strong technical support for the development of a new type of neutron detector with high performance in a larger area.