Characterization of Segmented Semiconductor Detectors for Neutron Beta Decay

The neutron beta decay process lends itself to some of the most sensitive methods for pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the weak interaction. The Neutron-a-b (Nab) collaboration intends to perform the most precise measurements of neutron decay product parameters with the intention of precisely determining lambda, the ratio of the axial vector to vector coupling in the weak interaction. This will be performed using a purpose-built asymmetric spectrometer containing a pair of segmented silicon detectors at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline. In this talk I will discuss the characterization of one such detector performed using the University of Manitoba’s low energy steerable proton source. Specifically – detector performance as a function of applied bias, proton energy, temperature, as well as a proton beam spot size study.