RPC for thermal neutron detection

The possibility to detect thermal neutrons with single gap Resistive Plate Chambers has been investigated. To detect neutrons a 10B4C thin coating on the inner surface of one RPC electrode is used as thermal neutron converter. The RPC detects the charged particles generated by neutrons via the (n,α) reaction on Boron. Tests on 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. A detector prototype has been developed and tested on a low energy neutron beam at the European laboratories JRC in Belgium. A detailed description of the detector and the experimental test results are presented.