Workshop on Neutron Detector Technology, Indiana University Cyclotron Facility; Bloomington, IN; May 29-30, 2003

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The need for improved neutron detectors is compelling. Current detectors saturate at about 1% of the flux that will be made available at facilities such as the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). Fortunately, the path to improvement appears to be straightforward, the problems seem well understood, and the solutions are (mostly) logical extensions of current technology. This project is a workshop intended to help address the need for a new generation of neutron detectors. It will begin to build a collaboration within the U.S. that is focused on the development of new neutron detectors and to develop a "roadmap" for future neutron-detector research. The workshop will include presentations by scientists from Europe and Japan, which are currently ahead of the U.S. in this area. The workshop will provide the participants with the information needed to prepare proposals seeking funding for neutron-detector development. The workshop will also establish a national coordinating committee to help measure U.S. progress in neutron-detector technology against the "roadmap." Neutrons allow scientists to study aspects of materials and biological substances that are not accessible using other types of radiation, such as X-rays. In particular, they are sensitive probes of the structure and dynamics of atoms and molecules. For this reason, they have now become widely used, not only in physics, chemistry, and materials science, but also in biology, earth science, and engineering. The usefulness of neutron beams for such research depends upon the ability to detect the neutrons after they have interacted with a sample. Current detectors severely limit the nature and type of research that can be carried out, so that a new generation of neutron detectors is needed. This workshop will help to begin a process to strengthen neutron-detector technology in the United States, bringing this nation back into the ranks of world leaders in this area.