DESIGN OF A NEW CCD-CAMERA NEUTRON RADIOGRAPHY DETECTOR

A new electronic neutron radiography detector has been designed at the Paul Scherrer Institute with the aim of providing a tool for scientif ic and industrial radiography applications requiring high-quantitative precision. The basic principle of the detector is the combination of a CCD-camera with a neutron-sensitive scintillator screen. The light f rom the screen is reflected to the camera by a mirror and focused on t he CCD-chip by a lens. Shielding components to protect the camera from radiation damage include radiation protection windows located in the optical path between mirror and lens. The whole assembly is placed in a detector box which functions as a positioning device and light-tight enclosure. The detector has been optimized for use at the future neut ron radiography station at the continuous spallation source SINQ but c an also be moved easily to other neutron sources. The detector has bee n tested at several facilities and its performance has been studied re garding dynamic range and spatial resolution as well as the reduction of interference factors.