Investigation of CdZnTe and LiNbO3 as electro-optic neutron detectors

An alternative method for the detection of thermal neutrons has been investigated utilizing the Pockels effect with CdZnTe and LiNbO3. A photodiode was used to indicate a change in light intensity transmitted through an assembly consisting of polarizer, Pockels cell, and analyzer. Ionization due to neutron reaction products can perturb an established electric field within the cell, thus changing the transmitted light intensity through the assembly. The CdZnTe cell demonstrated a repeatable change in transmitted light intensity, increasing with neutron flux, marking the first recorded use of this technology to detect neutrons. However, the LiNbO3 cell gave no response to neutron irradiation, and is assumed to be a result of the extremely short carrier lifetimes found in the material.