In the never-ending quest for better detection efficiency and spatial resolution, various\nthermal neutron detection schemes have been proposed over the years. Given the presence of\nsome converting layers (typically boron, but 6LiF is also widely used nowadays), the shift towards\nconcepts based on solid state detectors has been steadily increasing and ingenious schemes thereby\nproposed. However, a trade-off has been always sought for between efficiency and spatial resolution;\nthe problem can be (at least partially) circumvented using more elaborate geometries, but this\ncomplicates the sample preparation and detector construction. Thus, viable alternatives must\nbe found. What we proposed (and verified experimentally) is a detection scheme based on the\nsuperconducting to normal transition. More precisely, using a boron converting layer, the �± particles\n(generated in the (n, �±) reaction) crossing a low critical temperature superconducting strip some\n10 �¼m wide have been detected; the process, bolometric in nature and based on the ionization energy\nloss, is intrinsically fast and the spatial resolution very appealing. In this work, some of the work\ndone so far will be illustrated, together with the principles of the measurement and various related\nproblems. The realization of the detector is based on industrial deposition and photolitographic\ntechniques well within the grasp of a condensed matter laboratory, so that there is substantial room\nfor improvement over our elementary strip geometry. Some of the plans for future work will also be\npresented, together with some improvements both in the choice of the materials and the geometry of\nthe detector.
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