Demonstration of Gd-GEM detector design for neutron macromolecular crystallography applications
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden will become the world's most powerful thermal neutron source. The Macromolecular Diffractometer (NMX) at the ESS requires three 51.2 × 51.2 cm2 detectors with reasonable detection efficiency, sub-mm spatial resolution, a narrow point-spread function (PSF), and good time resolution. This work presents measurements with the improved version of the NMX detector prototype consisting of a Triple-GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) detector with a natural Gd converter and a low material budget readout. The detector was successfully tested at the neutron reactor of the Budapest Neutron Centre (BNC) and the D16 instrument at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble. The measurements with Cadmium and Gadolinium masks in Budapest demonstrate that the point-spread function of the detector lacks long tails that could impede the measurement of diffraction spot intensities. On the D16 instrument at ILL, diffraction spots from Triose phosphate isomerase w/ 2-phosphoglycolate (PGA) inhibitor were measured both in the MILAND Helium-3 detector and the Gd-GEM. The comparison between the two detectors shows a similar point-spread function in both detectors, and the expected efficiency ratio compared to the Helium-3 detector. Both measurements together thus give good indications that the Gd-GEM detector fits the requirements for the NMX instrument at ESS.
Source: Journal of Instrumentation
Institutions: European Spallation Source, University of Milano-Bicocca, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Institut Laue-Langevin, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, University of Bonn, Institute for Energy Security and Environmental Safety, Budapest Neutron Centre, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, TU Wien, Bursa Uludağ Üni̇versi̇tesi̇
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,045
OpenAlex ID: W4366265337