Christer Fröjdh

Christer Fröjdh is a professor in electronics at Mid Sweden University. He has been active in the MEDIPIX collaboration at CERN for many years and is also the chairman of the Scientific Committee for the IWORID series of Workshops. He is currently working on Task 4.1 The Resolution Challenge with the objective to adapt semiconductor detectors with a pixel pitch of 55 x 55 um for high resolution neutron imaging.

- I have worked with radiation detectors for 20 years and I have previously worked with Richard Hall-Wilton. So when Richard asked if I would join BrightnESS and work on higher resolution detectors for ESS, I said yes.

In Task 4.1, our goal is to get the resolution down below 100 micrometers. We will do a first test at our neutron source at MiUN to verify that everything works as it should and afterwards we plan to conduct tests at other sources that are up-and-running. I have worked with many of the involved people from the other partner institutes before and I like that we are working on a common goal and exchange information along the way.

One of the things I like the most about BrightnESS is that we take a technology that we have worked with within another area and use it for neutrons. Semi-conductors have not be used much in neutron research before and it therefore needs this further development to be used in this field. The key challenge for Task 4.1 will be to get a high spatial resolution and the sensitivity at the same time. We have worked with this challenge before, but not with neutrons – this is “the added challenge”.

I think the outcome of BrightnESS will produce several new technologies for detector concepts, which will push the neutron-based research. The performance of a detector can limit the power of a source, if the source is better than the detector. You need a good detector that can match the source, and therefore it is important that BrightnESS focus on detector development.