Neutron detector unit and neutron detector arrangement

A neutron detector unit for thermal and cold neutrons, comprising

• a detector housing (7, 17, 27),
• cathode elements,
• a plurality of wire-shaped anode elements (5, 15, 25), and
• a converter gas in said detector housing (7, 17, 27),
• wherein said neutron detector unit is a volume detector unit, in which a plurality of detector readout cells distributed three-dimensionally in the detector housing (7, 17, 27) are formed by at least some of said anode elements (5, 15, 25), or by at least some of said anode elements (5, 15, 25) and at least some of said cathode elements for the purposes of determining the position of conversion events,
• wherein said neutron detector unit is configured for determining the position by coincidence measurement, charge splitting or determining signal propagation times, and
• wherein the pressure of the converter gas in the detector housing is at or below a normal pressure.

A neutron detector arrangement for thermal and cold neutrons comprising

• at least one neutron detector unit (3, 13, 23) embodied as a volume detector unit, wherein each one of said at least one neutron detector units (3, 13, 23) has a detector housing (7, 17, 27), cathode elements and a plurality of wire-shaped anode elements (5, 15, 25) and
• wherein a plurality of detector readout cells distributed three-dimensionally in the detector housing (7, 17, 27) are formed, in the at least one neutron detector unit (3, 13, 23), by at least some of said anode elements (5, 15, 25) or by at least some of said anode elements (5, 15, 25) and at least some of said cathode elements for the purposes of determining the position of conversion events,
• and said neutron detector unit (3, 13, 23) is configured for determining the location by coincidence measurement, charge splitting or determining signal propagation times,
• wherein said neutron detector unit (3, 13, 23) or at least one of said neutron detector units (3, 13, 23) is aligned in such a way that, in the longitudinal direction thereof, at least some of said anode elements (5, 15, 25) of said at least one neutron detector unit (3, 13, 23) extend, at least predominantly, parallel or almost parallel to the trajectory of the neutrons (4) to be detected.