Neutron Cross Section Measurement Using the Associated Particle Technique

<p>The associated particle technique is applied to the D(d.n) He3 reaction, in order to produce a tagged neutron beam of accurately known energy, flux, and direction. The incident deuteron beam is obtained from a 400 Kv positive ion Van de Graaff accelerator. A description is given of the design of a uniform field sector magnet and other equipment associated with the stabilization and calibration of the energy of the incident deuteron beam. A versatile n-He3 coincidence system is described. The use of a silicon surface barrier detector with a thin nickel foil window enables complete resolution of the He3 peak with consequent improved neutron flux determination. The tagged neutron beam is used to measure the absolute neutron cross sections of the K39 (n,p) A39 and K39 (n, alpha) Cl36 reactions at a neutron energy of 2.46 Mev. The results obtained, (95 plus-minus 4) mb and (6.2 plus-minus 1) mb respectively, are compared with values obtained by other workers, and with theoretical predictions.</p>

Neutron Cross Section Measurement Using the Associated Particle Technique

<p>The associated particle technique is applied to the D(d.n) He3 reaction, in order to produce a tagged neutron beam of accurately known energy, flux, and direction. The incident deuteron beam is obtained from a 400 Kv positive ion Van de Graaff accelerator. A description is given of the design of a uniform field sector magnet and other equipment associated with the stabilization and calibration of the energy of the incident deuteron beam. A versatile n-He3 coincidence system is described. The use of a silicon surface barrier detector with a thin nickel foil window enables complete resolution of the He3 peak with consequent improved neutron flux determination. The tagged neutron beam is used to measure the absolute neutron cross sections of the K39 (n,p) A39 and K39 (n, alpha) Cl36 reactions at a neutron energy of 2.46 Mev. The results obtained, (95 plus-minus 4) mb and (6.2 plus-minus 1) mb respectively, are compared with values obtained by other workers, and with theoretical predictions.</p>

The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) on Board the CSES Mission

The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) will measure electrons, protons and light nuclei fluxes, in low Earth orbit. This detector consists of a high precision silicon tracker, a versatile trigger system, a range-calorimeter and an anti-coincidence system. It is one of the instruments on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES). HEPD can detect multi-MeV particles trapped within the geomagnetic field. When operated at large latitudes HEPD can also detect un-trapped solar particles and low energy cosmic rays. A detailed description of the HEPD will be given.

A coincidence detection system based on real-time software

Conventional real-time coincidence systems use electronic circuitry to detect coincident pulses (hardware coincidence). In this work, a new concept of coincidence system based on real-time software (software coincidence) is presented. This system is based on the recurrent supervision of the analogue-to-digital converters status, which is described in detail. A prototype has been designed and built using a low-cost development platform. It has been applied to two different experimental sets for cosmic ray muon detection. Experimental muon measurements recorded simultaneously using conventional hardware coincidence and our software coincidence system have been compared, yielding identical results. These measurements have also been validated using simultaneous neutron monitor observations. This new software coincidence system provides remarkable advantages such as higher simplicity of interconnection and adjusting. Thus, our system replaces, at least, three Nuclear Instrument Modules (NIMs) required by conventional coincidence systems, reducing its cost by a factor of 40 and eliminating pulse delay adjustments.

A coincidence detection system based on real-time software

Conventional real-time coincidence systems use electronic circuitry to detect coincident pulses (hardware coincidence). In this work, a new concept of coincidence system based on real-time software (software coincidence) is presented. This system is based on the recurrent supervision of the Analog to Digital Converters status, which is described in detail. A prototype has been designed and built using a low-cost development platform. It has been applied to two different experimental sets for cosmic ray muon detection. Experimental muon measurements recorded simultaneously using conventional hardware coincidence and our software coincidence system have been compared, yielding identical results. These measurements have been also validated using simultaneous neutron monitor observations. This new software coincidence system provides remarkable advantages such as higher simplicity of interconnection and adjusting. Thus, our system replaces, at least, three Nuclear Instrument Modules (NIM) required by conventional coincidence systems, reducing its cost by a factor of 40 and eliminating pulse delay adjustments.