Boron Trifluoride as a Quench Gas for Neutron Proportional Counters
AssigneeBaker Hughes Holdings LLC
InventorChristopher Freeman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A neutron proportional counter is provided. The proportional counter can include a chamber and a gas mixture. The chamber includes an anode and a cathode. The gas mixture is contained within the chamber and includes at least one neutron sensitive fill gas and a quench gas including BF3. In certain embodiments, the neutron sensitive fill gas can be configured for detection of thermal neutrons (e.g., He-3), fast neutrons (e.g., He-4, H2), or both (e.g., UF6).
Claims18
A neutron proportional counter, comprising:
- a chamber comprising an anode and a cathode;
- and
- a gas mixture contained within the chamber, the gas mixture comprising:
- at least one neutron sensitive fill gas;
- and
- a quench gas comprising BF3.
A method of preparing neutron proportional counter, comprising:
- providing a neutron proportional counter comprising a chamber comprising an anode and a cathode;
- and
- filling the chamber with a gas mixture comprising at least one neutron sensitive fill gas and a quench gas comprising BF3.
The method of claim 11, wherein the fill gas has a thermal neutron absorption cross-section within the range from about 100 to 5600 barns.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.