RPC as Thermal Neutron Detector for Humanitarian De-Mining

The possibility of detecting thermal neutrons with single gap Resistive Plate Chambers has been investigated. The development of the detector has been performed in the framework of the DIAMINE European Project for Humanitarian De-mining. To convert neutrons the inner surface of one RPC electrode has been coated with a thin layer of ¹⁰B₄C. The RPC detects the charged particles generated by neutrons via the (n,α) reaction on Boron. Tests of converter samples have been performed with a thermalized ²⁵²Cf source in order to evaluate the conversion efficiency: a good agreement between experimental results and simulation has been achieved. Futhermore a detailed description of a first detector prototype together with the results of a test on low energy neutron beams are presented.