Measure and Monte Carlo Simulation of Thin Diamond Detector Sensitivity to 14 MeV Neutrons

Continuous efforts are necessary for improving the performance and expanding the applications of single crystal diamond detectors (SCD) in medical and high-energy physics. In this paper, we present a characterization of two thin SCDs under 14 MeV neutron irradiation to assess their neutron sensitivity. Measurements were performed in current mode at the 14 MeV Frascati Neutron Generator (FNG). The detectors were realized in Schottky diode configuration at “Tor Vergata” University of Rome. The detectors showed an outstanding linearity versus neutron fluxes and a remarkably low sensitivity to this radiation, in terms of collected charge per neutron, making them suitable for diagnostics of neutron-mixed particle beams. A Monte Carlo model built with the well-known Geant4 simulation toolkit is also presented. The latter has shown not only that it can simulate with excellent accuracy the sensitivity of detectors to neutron radiation, but once the model has been calibrated against the experimental data, it is possible to estimate the thickness of the detector’s radiation-sensitive region.