An alternative small angle neutron scattering detector

An alternative detector design for Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) applications is currently under development at the European Spallation Source (ESS). Given the unavailability and high price of
³
He, this detector design utilizes gaseous detectors with
¹⁰
B as neutron converter and is ideally suited for a SANS instrument at the ESS. The novel aspects of the geometry, exploiting the properties of the converting material, in combination with the performance of the detector are addressed by means of analytical calculations, as well as detailed Monte Carlo simulations using a customized version of Geant4. Last but not least, the progress on the conceptual prototype design is presented.