1-D Fast Neutron Source Localization Using Digital Pixelated 3-D Position-Sensitive CdZnTe Detectors

Recoil of constituent nuclei from neutron elastic scatter in pixelated, 3-D CdZnTe gamma-ray detectors is detectable given current low energy thresholds. Fast neutrons are attenuated by CdZnTe detectors via outscatter and measured gradients in neutron interaction rates across detector pixels that enables 1-D fast neutron source localization through a maximum likelihood estimator. Experimental results using an MP320 deuterium-deuterium neutron generator with the four detector crystal Orion prototype successfully localize four different source locations across a 1-D field of view to within absolute measurement errors between 2.5° and 14.0°.