Discrimination of neutrons and gamma rays by a neutron detector comprising a superconducting tunnel junction on a single crystal of Li2B4O7

We demonstrate that neutrons and gamma rays can be discriminated by a neutron detector comprising a superconducting tunnel junction on a single crystal of Li2B4O7. The neutron detector was irradiated with X-rays, gamma rays and neutrons, and the signal pulses were analyzed in terms of pulse heights and rise times. It was found that most of the signal pulses for neutron events exhibited slower rise times than those for X-rays and gamma rays, indicating that neutrons and gamma rays could be discriminated by the detector on the basis of the rise times of the signal pulses.