Development and performance of a micron-resolution neutron imaging detector at CSNS

doi:10.1088/1674-1056/ae5f05

Abstract Neutron imaging is a powerful non-destructive testing technique, yet its spatial resolution remains considerably inferior to that of x-ray imaging. Bridging this resolution gap to the micron level represents a major challenge in the field. This study reports the development and performance of a micron-resolution neutron imaging detector at the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS). The detector consisted of a custom-fabricated, ultra-thin (5 μm) scintillator based on isotopically enriched gadolinium oxysulfide (¹⁵⁷Gd₂O₂S:Tb), coupled with a high-magnification optical lens and a scientific charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. At the Energy-Resolved Neutron Imaging Instrument (ERNI), the detector achieved a spatial resolution of 6.6 μm. The detector represents a significant leap in imaging capability at CSNS, enabling advanced non-destructive investigations at the microscale.

Keywords: high-resolution neutron imaging isotopically enriched gadolinium oxysulfide ultra-thin scintillator neutron detector

Received: 26 February 2026
Revised: 10 April 2026
Accepted manuscript online: 14 April 2026

PACS:	61.05.Tv	(Neutron imaging; neutron tomography)
	28.20.Pr	(Neutron imaging; neutron tomography)
	29.40.Mc	(Scintillation detectors)

Fund: Project supported by the Science Challenge Project (Grant No. TZ2025014), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2025YFF0520801), the Space Application System of China Manned Space Program (Grant No. CMSS-2024-4-A-002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12305348, 12527806, 12227810, and 52472206), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Grant No. 2025A1515011320 and 2024B1515120006), the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Particle Detection Technology (Grant No. 2024B1212010005), the CAS Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research (Grant No. YSBR-024), the Guangdong S&T Programme (Grant No. 2023A1111120019), the Beijing Nova Program (Grant No. 202504841009), and the Open Fund of the China Spallation Neutron Source Songshan Lake Science City (Grant No. KFKT2023A05).

Corresponding Authors: Jian-Rong Zhou, Jie Chen, Cheng-Hua Sun
E-mail: zhoujr@ihep.ac.cn;chenjie@ihep.ac.cn;sunchenghua@mail.ipc.ac.cn

Cite this article:

Xing-Fen Jiang(蒋兴奋), Wen-Qin Yang(杨文钦), Jun-An Geng(耿君安), Sheng-Xiang Wang(王声翔), Xiao-Juan Zhou(周晓娟), Yan-Feng Wang(王艳凤), Jian-Rong Zhou(周健荣), Jie Chen(陈洁), Cheng-Hua Sun(孙承华), Zhi-Jia Sun(孙志嘉), and Yuan-Bo Chen(陈元柏) Development and performance of a micron-resolution neutron imaging detector at CSNS 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 076101

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