Detector Development for the abBA Experiment.
We have developed a new type of field-expansion spectrometer to measure the neutron beta decay correlations (a, b, B, and A). A precision measurement of these correlations places stringent requirements on charged particle detectors. The design employs large area segmented silicon detectors to detect both protons and electrons in coincidence. Other requirements include good energy resolution (< 5 keV), a thin dead layer to allow observation of 30-keV protons, fast timing resolution (~1 ns) to reconstruct electron-backscattering events, and nearly unity efficiency. We report results of testing commercially available surface-barrier silicon detectors for energy resolution and timing performance, and measurement of the dead-layer thickness of ion-implanted silicon detectors with a 3.2 MeV alpha source.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
P-N
PN
Seo
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
J D
JD
Bowman
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
G S
GS
Mitchell
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
S I
SI
Penttila
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
W S
WS
Wilburn
dead layer; electron-backscattering event; neutron beta decay; silicon detector