Disclosure of Invention
Based on this, 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 radiation information of neutrons cannot be detected by the semiconductor material.
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, the neutron conversion layer is used for converting the incident neutrons into the reaction signals, and the semiconductor device is used for generating detection signals according to the reaction signals. Based on this, the detection of the incident neutron correspondence can be calculated by calculating the detection signal generated by the semiconductor device.
In one embodiment, the semiconductor device comprises a PN junction, and the neutron conversion layer comprises a 6 LiF layer;
The 6 LiF layer is arranged on the surface of the N region of the PN junction.
In one embodiment, the semiconductor device comprises an optoelectronic semiconductor and the neutron conversion layer comprises 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating.
In one embodiment, the 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating has a thickness of 400 to 500 μm.
In one embodiment, the optoelectronic semiconductor further comprises a protective layer disposed between the optoelectronic semiconductor and the 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating.
A neutron detection chip comprising a chip housing, and a pulse mode circuit, a current mode circuit and a neutron detection probe according to any of the embodiments described above disposed within the chip housing;
The pulse mode circuit comprises a pre-amplifying unit and a secondary main amplifying unit; the input end of the pre-amplifying unit is used for acquiring a detection signal of the neutron detection probe when the dose rate of the neutron detection probe is smaller than or equal to a dose limiting value; the output end of the pre-amplifying unit is used for being connected with an external processor through the secondary main amplifying 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 acquiring a detection signal of the neutron detection probe when the dose rate of the neutron detection probe is larger than a dose limiting value, and the output end of the current measuring unit is used for being connected with an external processor through the current converting unit.
When the dose rate of the neutron detection chip is smaller than or equal to the dose limiting 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 an external processor calculates to obtain a detection result; when the dose rate is larger than the dose limiting value, the upper limit of the counting rate of the pulse mode circuit is exceeded, a current mode circuit is adopted at the moment, the measured current is converted into voltage, and the detection result is calculated through an external processor. Based on the above, the radiation detection device is chipped, and the neutron detection chip can realize the wide-range detection of neutron radiation through the cooperative work of the pulse reading mode and the current reading mode.
In one embodiment, the pulse mode circuit further comprises an amplitude discrimination unit and a monostable trigger unit;
the output end of the pre-amplifying unit is used for being connected with an external processor through the secondary main amplifying unit, the amplitude discriminating unit and the monostable triggering unit in sequence.
In one embodiment, the integrated circuit further comprises a built-in processor disposed within the chip housing;
The output end of the pre-amplifying unit is connected with the built-in processor through the secondary main amplifying unit; the output end of the current measuring unit is connected with the built-in processor through the current converting 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 discrimination 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 measurement unit comprises a transimpedance amplifier or a current sampling circuit; the current conversion unit can select a second analog-to-digital conversion circuit.
In one embodiment, the system further comprises a boost module;
The boosting module is used for accessing the chip-level voltage, boosting the chip-level voltage and providing a 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 a better understanding of the objects, technical solutions and technical effects of the present invention, the present invention will be further explained below with reference to the drawings and examples. Meanwhile, it is stated that the embodiments described below 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 the incident neutrons to generate a reaction signal. In one embodiment, the reactive signal comprises a charge or an optical signal.
In one embodiment, the neutron conversion layer includes a conversion layer of 10B、6Li、158Gd、157 Gd, 113 Cd, or the like, as a conversion material. As a preferred embodiment, the neutron conversion layer is a conversion layer of 6 Li as a conversion material. 6 Li and thermal neutrons have a larger reaction interface, secondary charged particles generated are high in energy, and 6 Li and neutrons are subjected to nuclear reaction to emit 3 H with energy of E 3H =2.73 MeV and alpha particles with energy of E α =2.05 MeV.
In one embodiment, 6 LiF conversion material may be further selected based on 6 Li conversion material, 6 LiF having a higher density of lithium atoms per unit mass. That is, a conversion layer of 6 Li as a conversion material may be further selected as a conversion layer of 6 LiF as a conversion material.
The semiconductor device receives the reaction signal emitted by the neutron conversion layer, and semiconductor materials in the semiconductor device interact with the reaction signal to generate a detection signal. In one embodiment, the detection signal is an electrical signal.
In one example, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a neutron detection probe according to an embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the semiconductor device includes a PN junction, and the neutron conversion layer includes a 6 LiF layer;
The 6 LiF layer is arranged on the surface of the N region of the PN junction.
As shown in fig. 1, the 6 LiF layer is disposed on the surface of the N region of the PN junction, and after receiving an incident neutron, the 6 LiF layer generates a reaction, so as to generate an α particle as a reaction signal. When the neutron detection probe of an embodiment is applied, bias voltage exists at two ends of the PN junction, and alpha particles are incident to 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 embodiment, the 6 LiF layer is directly coated on the surface of the N region of the PN junction, in direct contact with the N region of the PN junction. Generally, the surface of a semiconductor device having a PN junction is provided with a protective layer, and a 6 LiF layer is coated in the protective layer and is in direct contact with the surface of an N region of the PN junction.
It should be noted that, on the premise of meeting the generation requirement of the detection signal, the 6 LiF layer may also be disposed on the P-region surface of the PN junction.
In one example, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a neutron detection probe according to another embodiment, and as shown in fig. 2, a semiconductor device includes a photoelectric semiconductor, and the neutron conversion layer includes 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating.
Wherein, as shown in fig. 2, 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating is provided on one side of the optoelectronic semiconductor. 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating of 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) are mixed and combined according to a certain proportion to form a scintillator, when an incident photon is received, after nuclear reaction occurs between the incident photon and 6Li, generated charged particles deposit energy in ZnS (Ag) to emit fluorescence, the fluorescence is incident on a photoelectric semiconductor, and the photoelectric semiconductor is converted into an electric signal, namely a detection signal through photoelectric effect.
In one embodiment, the photo-semiconductor comprises a PIN semiconductor detector or a silicon photomultiplier, or the like.
In one example, the 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating layer has a mixing ratio of 6 LiF to ZnS (Ag) of: 6 LiF: znS (Ag) is 1:4, or 6 LiF: znS (Ag) is 1:2, etc.
In one embodiment, the 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating has a thickness of 400 to 500 μm. The detection efficiency and light transmittance of 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating were balanced by 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating having a thickness of 400 to 500 μm.
In one example, the neutron detection probe of another embodiment further comprises a protective layer disposed between the optoelectronic semiconductor and the 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating. As a preferred embodiment, the protective layer between the 6 LiF and ZnS (Ag) mixed coating comprises an epoxy layer.
The neutron detection probe of any of the above embodiments converts an incident neutron into a reaction signal through the neutron conversion layer, and generates a detection signal according to the reaction signal through the semiconductor device. Based on this, the detection of the incident neutron correspondence 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 diagram of a neutron detection chip circuit module according to an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, where 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 as in any of the above examples 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 pre-amplifying unit 300 is configured to obtain 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 limiting value; the output end of the pre-amplifying unit 300 is used for being connected with an external processor through the secondary main amplifying unit 301;
Wherein the current mode circuit 202 includes the current measurement unit 400 and the current conversion unit 401; the input end of the current measuring unit 400 is used for obtaining a detection signal of the neutron detection probe 203 when the dose rate of the neutron detection probe 203 is greater than a dose limiting 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 magnitude of the electrical signal of the detection signal is positively correlated with the dose rate, which includes 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 ionization 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 0.1 fC-100 fC, which is proportional to the deposition energy of the ionization radiation. When the dose rate is smaller than or equal to the dose limiting value, the pulse mode circuit 201 is used for acquiring 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, the upper limit of the counting rate of the pulse mode circuit 201 is exceeded, and the current mode circuit 202 is used to convert the measured current into voltage, and the detection result is calculated by the external processor. Based on the above, the radiation detection device is chipped, and the neutron detection chip can realize the wide-range detection of neutron radiation through the cooperative work of the pulse reading mode and the current reading mode.
In one embodiment, the pulse mode circuit 201 may be a combination circuit of a separate device such as a JFET and a transistor, a combination circuit of a JFET and an op-amp, or an application specific integrated circuit based on CMOS technology. As a preferred embodiment, the pulse mode circuit 201 is an application specific integrated circuit based on CMOS technology. Fig. 4 is a diagram of a pulse mode circuit 201 according to an embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, in which the pre-amplifier unit 300 includes a charge sensitive amplifier 500 under an asic based on CMOS technology. The charge sense amplifier 500 is used to convert a charge signal into a voltage signal, and as a first stage amplification, its noise performance and frequency characteristics have the greatest influence on circuit characteristics. The secondary main amplifying unit 301 includes a shaping filter circuit 501. As a preferred embodiment, the shaping filter circuit 501 may be a bandpass filter, which is used to filter out signals in irrelevant frequency bands and 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 implementation mode, in order to obtain low noise, low power consumption, proper gain bandwidth and the like, proper manufacturing procedures can be selected according to theoretical calculation and simulation results in the design stage of the circuit diagram, and parameters such as the width-to-length ratio of each transistor can be adjusted step by step. Because it is difficult to implement high resistance resistors inside the integrated circuit, the charge accumulated on each feedback capacitor in the CMOS process based asic can be discharged by designing a bleeder circuit.
In one example, fig. 5 is a circuit diagram of a pre-amplifying unit design according to an embodiment, and as shown in fig. 5, the pre-amplifying unit 300 according to an embodiment has the advantages of low noise, low power consumption, and suitable gain bandwidth.
In one example, fig. 6 is a circuit diagram of a design of a secondary main amplifying unit according to an embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the secondary main amplifying unit 301 according to an embodiment can effectively improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the output signal of the secondary main amplifying unit 301.
In one example, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a circuit module of a neutron detection chip according to another embodiment, 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-amplifying unit 300 is used for connecting with an external processor through the secondary main amplifying unit 301, the amplitude discriminating unit 302 and the monostable triggering unit 303 in sequence.
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-amplifying unit 300 is connected with the built-in processor through the secondary main amplifying unit 301; the output end of the current measuring unit 400 is connected with 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 self-calculation of the detection result of the neutron detection chip is realized, and the universality of the neutron detection chip is improved.
In one embodiment, the amplitude discrimination unit 302 may select a discriminator or a first analog-to-digital conversion circuit, and configure a voltage comparison circuit at a later stage of 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 trigger unit 303 may be a monostable trigger 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 gives the pulse signal to an external or built-in processor, so that the external or built-in processor calculates a radiation detection result from the pulse signal.
In one embodiment, the current measurement unit 400 may be a transimpedance amplifier or a current sampling circuit, which is used to convert the current signal in the neutron detection probe 203 into a voltage output, and as a preferred embodiment, a filtering circuit is further configured at a later stage of the current measurement unit 400 to filter out high-frequency noise in the voltage output of the current measurement unit 400.
In one embodiment, the current conversion unit 401 may optionally use 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 built-in processor calculates the radiation detection result from the digital signal.
In one example, as shown in fig. 7, the neutron detection chip of yet another embodiment further includes a voltage boosting module 600;
The boost module 600 is used for accessing the chip-level voltage, boosting the chip-level voltage, and providing the boosted chip-level voltage for the neutron detection probe 203.
In one embodiment, the boost module 600 may be 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 employs an electromagnetic shielding box, and the circuits disposed in the chip housing 200 are distributed to improve electromagnetic compatibility.
As a preferred embodiment, a chip substrate is disposed in the chip housing 200, and the pulse mode circuit 201, the current mode circuit 202, the built-in processor 204 and the neutron detection probe 203 are all fixed on the chip substrate, and the electrical connection between the pulse mode circuit 201, the current mode circuit 202, the processor and the neutron detection probe 203 is realized by gold wire bonding or flip chip bonding.
In one embodiment, the neutron detection chip is also packaged by plastic or ceramic packaging.
In one embodiment, the built-in processor 204 is a single-chip microcomputer or a DSP processor.
The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined, and all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are not described for brevity of description, however, as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features, they should be considered as the scope of the description.
The above examples illustrate only a few embodiments of the invention, which are described in detail and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, which are all within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection of the present invention is to be determined by the appended claims.