Disclosure of Invention
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a neutron detection probe and a neutron detection chip for the defect that the conventional semiconductor material cannot interact with neutrons, that is, the semiconductor material cannot detect radiation information of neutrons.
A neutron detection probe comprises a semiconductor device and a neutron conversion layer arranged on one side of the semiconductor device;
the neutron conversion layer is used for converting incident neutrons into reaction signals;
the semiconductor device is used for generating a detection signal according to the reaction signal.
According to the neutron detection probe, incident neutrons are converted into reaction signals through the neutron conversion layer, and detection signals are generated through the semiconductor device according to the reaction signals. Based on this, the detection corresponding to the incident neutron can be calculated by calculating the detection signal generated by the semiconductor device.
In one embodiment, the semiconductor device includes a PN junction, and the neutron conversion layer includes6A LiF layer;
the above-mentioned6The LiF layer is arranged on the surface of the N region of the PN junction.
In one embodiment, the semiconductor device comprises a photoelectric semiconductor, and the neutron conversion layer comprises6LiF and zns (ag) mixed coating.
In one embodiment, the6The thickness of the LiF and ZnS (Ag) hybrid coating is 400 to 500. mu.m.
In one embodiment, the device further comprises a photoelectric semiconductor arranged between the photoelectric semiconductor and the substrate6LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating.
A neutron detection chip comprises a chip shell, a pulse mode circuit, a current mode circuit and a neutron detection probe as described in any one of the embodiments, wherein the pulse mode circuit and the current mode circuit are arranged in the chip shell;
the pulse mode circuit comprises a pre-amplification unit and a secondary main amplification unit; the input end of the preamplification unit is used for acquiring a detection signal of the neutron detection probe when the dose rate of the neutron detection probe is less than or equal to a dose limit value; the output end of the pre-amplification unit is used for being connected with an external processor through the secondary main amplification unit;
wherein the current mode circuit includes the current measurement unit and the current conversion unit; the input end of the current measuring unit is used for obtaining a detection signal of the neutron detection probe when the dosage rate of the neutron detection probe is larger than a dosage limit value, and the output end of the current measuring unit is used for being connected with an external processor through the current conversion unit.
When the dose rate of the neutron detection chip is less than or equal to the dose limit value, the detection signal of the neutron detection probe is obtained through the pulse mode circuit, the output pulse number of the neutron detection chip is the same as the neutron number corresponding to the detection signal, and the detection result is obtained through calculation of the external processor; and when the dose rate is greater than the dose limit value, the count rate exceeds the upper limit of the pulse mode circuit, and at the moment, a current mode circuit is adopted to convert the measured current into voltage, and the detection result is calculated by an external processor. Based on this, when realizing the chipization of radiation detection equipment, through pulse read-out mode and electric current read-out mode collaborative work, realize that neutron detection chip is to the wide-range detection of neutron radiation.
In one embodiment, the pulse mode circuit further comprises an amplitude screening unit and a monostable trigger unit;
the output end of the preamplification unit is used for being connected with an external processor through the secondary main amplification unit, the amplitude screening unit and the monostable trigger unit in sequence.
In one embodiment, the chip further comprises a built-in processor arranged in the chip shell;
the output end of the pre-amplification unit is connected with the built-in processor through the secondary main amplification unit; the output end of the current measuring unit is connected with the built-in processor through the current conversion unit.
In one embodiment, the pre-amplification unit comprises a charge sensitive amplifier and the secondary main amplification unit comprises a shaping filter circuit.
In one embodiment, the amplitude screening unit comprises a discriminator or a first analog-to-digital conversion circuit, and the monostable trigger unit comprises a monostable trigger circuit.
In one embodiment, the current measuring unit comprises a transimpedance amplifier or a current sampling circuit; the current conversion unit can be selected from the second analog-to-digital conversion circuit.
In one embodiment, the device further comprises a boosting module;
the boosting module is used for accessing chip-level voltage, boosting the chip-level voltage and providing bias voltage for the neutron detection probe by the boosted chip-level voltage.
In one embodiment, the chip housing includes an electromagnetic shielding box.
Detailed Description
For better understanding of the objects, technical solutions and effects of the present invention, the present invention will be further explained with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. Meanwhile, the following described examples are only for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention.
The embodiment of the invention provides a neutron detection probe.
A neutron detection probe comprises a semiconductor device and a neutron conversion layer arranged on one side of the semiconductor device;
the neutron conversion layer is used for converting incident neutrons into reaction signals;
the semiconductor device is used for generating a detection signal according to the reaction signal.
When the neutron detection probe detects neutron radiation, the neutron conversion layer reacts with incident neutrons to generate reaction signals. In one embodiment, the response signal comprises a charge or a light signal.
In one embodiment, the neutron conversion layer includes a conversion material of10B、6Li、158Gd、157Gd or113A conversion layer of Cd, etc. As a preferred embodiment, the neutron conversion layer is made of conversion material6A conversion layer of Li.6Li and thermal neutrons have a larger reaction interface, the energy of the generated secondary charged particles is large,6li reacts with neutron nucleus to emit one3H energy of E3H2.73MeV and an energy of α particles Eα=2.05MeV。
In one embodiment, based on6Li conversion material can be further selected6A LiF conversion material, which is a material containing a metal,6LiF has a higher density of lithium atoms per unit mass. I.e. a conversion material of6The Li conversion layer can be further selected from conversion materials6A conversion layer of LiF.
The semiconductor device receives a reaction signal emitted by the neutron conversion layer, and a semiconductor material in the semiconductor device interacts with the reaction signal to generate a detection signal. In one embodiment, the detection signal is an electrical signal.
In one embodiment, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a neutron detection probe according to an embodiment, and as shown in fig. 1, the semiconductor device includes a PN junction, and the neutron conversion layer includes a PN junction6A LiF layer;
the above-mentioned6The LiF layer is arranged on the surface of the N region of the PN junction.
As shown in figure 1 of the drawings, in which,6the LiF layer is arranged on the surface of the N region of the PN junction6When the neutron detection probe of the embodiment is applied, bias voltage exists at two ends of a PN junction, and α particles enter a depletion layer of the PN junction, so that an effective pulse signal, namely a detection signal, can be generated.
In one embodiment, the semiconductor device may be a diode.
In one of the embodiments, the first and second electrodes are,6the LiF layer is directly coated on the surface of the N region of the PN junction and is directly contacted with the N region of the PN junction. Generally, the surface of a semiconductor device having a PN junction has a protective layer,6the LiF layer is coated in the protective layer and is in direct contact with the surface of the N region of the PN junction.
It should be noted that, on the premise of meeting the requirement of generating the detection signal,6the LiF layer can also be arranged on the surface of the P area of the PN junction.
In one embodiment, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a neutron detection probe according to another embodiment, and as shown in fig. 2, the semiconductor device includes a photoelectric semiconductor, and the neutron conversion layer includes a photoelectric semiconductor6LiF and zns (ag) mixed coating.
In which, as shown in figure 2,6a mixed coating of LiF and zns (ag) is provided on one side of the optoelectronic semiconductor. By6LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed and combined according to a certain proportion to form a scintillator6When the mixed coating of LiF and ZnS (Ag) receives incident neutrons, after the neutrons enter and react with 6Li, the generated charged particles deposit energy in ZnS (Ag) to emit fluorescence, the fluorescence enters a photoelectric semiconductor, and the photoelectric semiconductor is converted into an electric signal through the photoelectric effect, namely a detection signal.
In one embodiment, the optoelectronic semiconductor comprises a PIN semiconductor detector or a silicon photomultiplier tube.
In one of the embodiments, the first and second electrodes are,6LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating6The mixing ratio of LiF and ZnS (Ag) is:6LiF: zns (ag) is 1: 4, or6LiF: zns (ag) is 1: 2, etc.
In one of the embodiments, the first and second electrodes are,6the thickness of the LiF and ZnS (Ag) hybrid coating is 400 to 500. mu.m. Through a thickness of 400 to 500 μm6LiF and ZnS (Ag) hybrid coating, equilibrium6Detection efficiency and light transmission of LiF and zns (ag) hybrid coatings.
In one embodiment, the neutron detection probe of another embodiment further includes a photoelectric semiconductor disposed between the photoelectric semiconductor and the neutron detector6LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating. As a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention,6the protective layer between the LiF and zns (ag) hybrid coatings comprises an epoxy layer.
In the neutron detection probe according to any of the embodiments described above, incident neutrons are converted into reaction signals by the neutron conversion layer, and detection signals are generated by the semiconductor device according to the reaction signals. Based on this, the detection corresponding to the incident neutron can be calculated by calculating the detection signal generated by the semiconductor device.
The embodiment of the invention also provides a neutron detection chip.
Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a circuit module of a neutron detection chip according to an embodiment, and as shown in fig. 3, the neutron detection chip according to an embodiment includes a chip housing 200, and a pulse mode circuit 201, a current mode circuit 202, and a neutron detection probe 203 according to any one of the embodiments described above, which are disposed in the chip housing 200;
wherein the pulse mode circuit 201 comprises a pre-amplification unit 300 and a secondary main amplification unit 301; the input end of the preamplification unit 300 is used for acquiring a detection signal of the neutron detection probe 203 when the dose rate of the neutron detection probe 203 is less than or equal to a dose limit value; the output end of the pre-amplification unit 300 is used for connecting an external processor through the secondary main amplification unit 301;
wherein the current mode circuit 202 comprises the current measurement unit 400 and the current conversion unit 401; the input end of the current measuring unit 400 is used for acquiring the detection signal of the neutron detection probe 203 when the dose rate of the neutron detection probe 203 is greater than the dose limit value, and the output end of the current measuring unit 400 is used for being connected with an external processor through the current converting unit 401.
The electric signal of the detection signal is positively correlated with the dose rate, and the dose rate comprises a current value or a charge value. The dose limiting value comprises a preset current value or a preset charge value.
In one embodiment, the detection signal directly output by the neutron detection probe 203 is an ionizing charge signal, the detection signal does not have an avalanche amplification process, and the charge amount of the detection signal is usually in the order of 0.1fC to 100fC, which is proportional to the ionizing radiation deposition energy. When the dose rate is less than or equal to the dose limit value, the pulse mode circuit 201 acquires a detection signal of the neutron detection probe 203, the output pulse number of the detection signal is the same as the neutron number corresponding to the detection signal, and an external processor calculates to obtain a detection result; when the dose rate is greater than the dose limit value and exceeds the upper limit of the counting rate of the pulse mode circuit 201, the current mode circuit 202 is adopted to convert the measured current into voltage, and the detection result is calculated by an external processor. Based on this, when realizing the chipization of radiation detection equipment, through pulse read-out mode and electric current read-out mode collaborative work, realize that neutron detection chip is to the wide-range detection of neutron radiation.
In one embodiment, the pulse mode circuit 201 can be implemented by a discrete device combination circuit such as JFET and transistor, a combination circuit such as JFET and operational amplifier, or an application specific integrated circuit based on CMOS process. As a preferred embodiment, the pulse mode circuit 201 is an application specific integrated circuit based on CMOS process. Fig. 4 is a diagram of a pulse mode circuit 201 according to an embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, in an asic based on CMOS process, a pre-amplifier unit 300 includes a charge sensitive amplifier 500. The charge sensitive amplifier 500 is used to convert a charge signal into a voltage signal as a first stage amplification, and its noise performance and frequency characteristic have the greatest influence on the circuit characteristics. The secondary primary amplification unit 301 includes a shaping filter circuit 501. As a preferred embodiment, the shaping filter circuit 501 may select a band-pass filter for filtering out signals of irrelevant frequency bands, so as to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the output signal. In one embodiment, the amplitude discrimination unit 302 includes a comparator 502, and the digital signal is output through the comparator 502.
As a preferred embodiment, in order to obtain low noise, low power consumption, proper gain bandwidth, etc., a proper process may be selected in the circuit diagram design stage according to theoretical calculation and simulation results, and parameters such as the aspect ratio of each transistor may be adjusted step by step. Because it is difficult to realize high resistance value resistance in the integrated circuit, the charge accumulated on each feedback capacitance in the special integrated circuit based on CMOS technology can be discharged by designing the discharge circuit.
In one embodiment, fig. 5 is a circuit diagram of a preamplifier unit design according to an embodiment, and as shown in fig. 5, the preamplifier unit 300 according to an embodiment has the advantages of obtaining low noise, low power consumption, and appropriate gain bandwidth.
In one embodiment, fig. 6 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of a secondary main amplifying unit, and as shown in fig. 6, the secondary main amplifying unit 301 of an embodiment can effectively improve a signal-to-noise ratio of an output signal of the secondary main amplifying unit 301.
In one embodiment, fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a circuit module of a neutron detection chip according to another embodiment, and as shown in fig. 7, the pulse mode circuit 201 further includes an amplitude discrimination unit 302 and a monostable trigger unit 303;
the output end of the pre-amplification unit 300 is used for being connected with an external processor sequentially through the secondary main amplification unit 301, the amplitude screening unit 302 and the monostable trigger unit 303.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, the neutron detection chip further includes a built-in processor 204 disposed within the chip housing 200;
the output end of the pre-amplification unit 300 is connected with the built-in processor through the secondary main amplification unit 301; the output end of the current measuring unit 400 is connected to the built-in processor 204 through the current converting unit 401.
The neutron detection chip can also replace an external processor through the built-in processor 204, so that the detection result of the neutron detection chip can be self-calculated, and the universality of the neutron detection chip is improved.
In one embodiment, the amplitude screening unit 302 may select a discriminator or a first analog-to-digital conversion circuit, and a voltage comparison circuit is configured after the discriminator or the first analog-to-digital conversion circuit to output the LVCMOS digital signal to the monostable trigger unit 303.
In one embodiment, the monostable 303 can be implemented as a monostable circuit. The monostable trigger unit 303 receives the digital signal output by the amplitude discrimination unit 302, converts the digital signal output by the amplitude discrimination unit 302 into a pulse signal, and sends the pulse signal to an external or built-in processor, so that the external or built-in processor can calculate the radiation detection result through the pulse signal.
In one embodiment, the current measurement unit 400 may be a transimpedance amplifier or a current sampling circuit, and is configured to convert a current signal in the neutron detection probe 203 into a voltage output, and as a preferred embodiment, a filter circuit is further configured at a subsequent stage of the current measurement unit 400 to filter high-frequency noise in the voltage output of the current measurement unit 400.
In one embodiment, the current conversion unit 401 may optionally include a second analog-to-digital conversion circuit for converting the voltage output of the current measurement unit 400 into a digital signal, so that an external or internal processor may calculate the radiation detection result from the digital signal.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, the neutron detection chip of another embodiment further includes a boost module 600;
the boosting module 600 is used for accessing a chip-level voltage, boosting the chip-level voltage, and providing a bias voltage for the neutron detection probe 203 with the boosted chip-level voltage.
In one embodiment, the boost module 600 may use a transformer coil or a boost chip. As a preferred embodiment, the boost module 600 is a boost chip.
In one embodiment, the chip housing 200 is an electromagnetic shielding box, and the circuits disposed in the chip housing 200 are distributed to improve the electromagnetic compatibility.
As a preferred embodiment, a chip substrate is disposed in the chip housing 200, the pulse mode circuit 201, the current mode circuit 202, the built-in processor 204 and the sub-probe 203 are all fixed on the chip substrate, and the electrical connection among the pulse mode circuit 201, the current mode circuit 202, the processor and the sub-probe 203 is realized by gold wire bonding or flip chip bonding.
In one embodiment, the neutron detection chip is further encapsulated by a plastic or ceramic encapsulation.
In one embodiment, the built-in processor 204 is a single chip or a DSP processor.
The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.
The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.