Projection imaging with ultracold neutrons

Abstract Ultracold neutron (UCN) projection imaging is demonstrated using a boron-coated back-illuminated CCD camera and the Los Alamos UCN source. Each neutron is recorded through the capture reactions with 10B. By direct detection at least one of the byproducts α , 7Li and γ (electron recoils) derived from the neutron capture and reduction of thermal noise of the scientific CCD camera, a signal-to-noise improvement on the order of 1 0 4 over the indirect detection has been achieved. Sub-pixel position resolution of a few microns is confirmed for individual UCN events. Projection imaging of test objects shows a spatial resolution less than 100 μ m by an integrated UCN flux one the order of 10 6 cm−2. The bCCD can be used to build UCN detectors with an area on the order of 1 m 2 . The combination of micrometer scale spatial resolution, low readout noise of a few electrons, and large area makes bCCD suitable for quantum science of UCN.