Prototype developments for a high-resolution neutron detector at RB

A detector for momentum measurements of highenergy neutrons in the energy range 200 MeV to 1000 MeV is being developed for the RB experiment at FAIR. The detection principle is based on a combination of converter material and subsequent detection of charged particles from reactions in the converter material. Multigap Resistive-Plate Chambers (MRPC) are used for the detection of charged particles. A modular system with about 10’000 electronic channels is considered. The total depth of 1 m, 50% of which are high-Z converter (nuclear interaction length ~17 cm) ensures a detection efficiency close to 100% for neutron energies above 200 MeV. The detector is subdivided into 60 planes with active areas of 2×2 m adding up to a total area of 240 m MRPC modules. A time resolution of the full detector below σ=100 ps and a spatial resolution of less than 1 cm in all three dimensions are desired. In addition, the detector should provide a good efficiency for detecting and reconstructing multi-neutron events.