A LiF Silicon Sandwich Counter to Measure Water Content of Planetary Surfaces

The neutron counter proposed here has a long history and was commercially available in a somewhat different form. This counter would be suitable for a rover or lander since it requires a rather long measuring time for each placement. It consists of two silicon wafer charged-particle counters with a layer of Li-6F deposited on the inner surface of one. The neutron detecting reaction is Li-6(n,H-3)He-4 in which the alpha particle and the triton are emitted from the Li-6 deposit back to back. If one of the detectors sees the alpha particle, the other will see the triton. This allows one to use a coincidence technique that virtually eliminates all background. The signals from each detector can be added together so that the total energy of the reaction, Q=4.6 MeV and the kinetic energy of the neutron, can be recorded.

• 저널Information Systems Research · 1482–
• 토픽Nuclear Physics and Applications · Radiation
• 저자D. M. Drake, B. C. Clark, B. M. Jakosky, Robert P. Reedy, S. W. Squyres