Funct. Mater. 2025; 32 (4): 705-714.
3D printing of a scintillation element for thermal neutron detection based on ZnS:Ag/B2O3
Institute for Scintillation Materials, State Scientific Institution «Institute for Single Crystals» of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 61072 Kharkiv, Ukraine, Nauky Ave., 60
A new method of creating a multilayer scintillation element for the registration of thermal neutrons using 3D printing technology on an FDM printer has been developed. The influence of thermophysical parameters of printing materials on the geometric shape and functional properties of the printed product was investigated. Optimal settings of the printing technology were selected. Samples of the scintillation element, which consists of layers of light guides alternating with scintillator layers, have been produced. Polystyrene was used as the light guide. A composite material based on polystyrene with a filler of zinc sulfide powder activated by silver, with the addition of a boron oxide (B2O3) neutron converter – ZnS:Ag/B2O3 – was used as a scintillator. The use of 3D printing with two materials in a single technological cycle made it possible to significantly simplify the process of creating a scintillation element compared to traditional technologies. The thermal neutron registration efficiency of the scintillation element sample created using 3D printing technology is 68%, which is comparable to the modern analogs of solid-state detectors created using traditional technology.
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