Neutron diffraction measurements at the INES diffractometer using a neutron radiative capture based counting technique

The global shortage of ³He gas is an issue to be addressed in neutron detection. In the context of the research and development activity related to the replacement of ³He for neutron counting systems, neutron diffraction measurements performed on the INES beam line at the ISIS pulsed spallation neutron source are presented. For these measurements two different neutron counting devices have been used: a 20 bar pressure squashed ³He tube and a Yttrium-Aluminum-Perovskite scintillation detector. The scintillation detector was coupled to a cadmium sheet that registers the prompt radiative capture gamma rays generated by the (n,γ) nuclear reactions occurring in cadmium. The assessment of the scintillator based counting system was done by performing a Rietveld refinement analysis on the diffraction pattern from an ancient Japanese blade and comparing the results with those obtained by a ³He tube placed at the same angular position. The results obtained demonstrate the considerable potential of the proposed counting approach based on the radiative capture gamma rays at spallation neutron sources.     

LiF crystals as high spatial resolution neutron imaging detectors

Neutron imaging by color center formation in LiF crystals was applied to a sensitivity indicator (SI) as a standard samples for neutron radiography. The SI was exposed to a 5 mm pinhole-collimated thermal neutron beam with an LiF crystal and a neutron imaging plate (NIP) for 120 min in the JRR-3M thermal neutron radiography facility. The image in the LiF crystal was read out using a laser confocal microscope. All gaps were clearly observed in images for both the LiF crystal and the NIP. The experimental results showed that LiF crystals have excellent characteristics as neutron imaging detectors in areas such as high spatial resolution.     

Design considerations for thin film coated semiconductor thermal neutron detectors—I: basics regarding alpha particle emitting neutron reactive films

Semiconductor-based thermal neutron detectors provide a compact technology for neutron detection and imaging. Such devices can be produced by externally coating semiconductor-charged-particle detectors with neutron reactive films that convert free neutrons into charged-particle reaction products. Commonly used films for such devices utilize the ¹⁰B(n,)⁷Li reaction or the ⁶Li(n,)³H reaction, which are attractive due to the relatively high energies imparted to the reaction products. Unfortunately, thin film or “foil” type thermal neutron detectors suffer from self-absorption effects that ultimately limit neutron detection efficiency. Design considerations that maximize the efficiency and performance of such devices are discussed. Theoretical and experimental results from front coated, back coated, and “sandwich” designs are presented.     

Thermal neutron imaging with rare-earth-ion-doped LiCaAlF6 scintillators and a sealed Cf source

Thermal neutron imaging with Ce-doped LiCaAlF₆ crystals has been performed. The prototype of the neutron imager using a Ce-doped LiCaAlF₆ scintillating crystal and a position sensitive photomultiplier tube (PSPMT) which had 64 multi-channel anode was developed. The Ce-doped LiCaAlF₆ single crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. A plate with dimensions of a diameter of 50×2 mm² was cut from the grown crystal, polished, and optically coupled to PSPMT by silicone grease. The ²⁵²Cf source (<1 MBq) was sealed with 43 mm of polyethylene for neutron thermalization. Alphabet-shaped Cd pieces with a thickness of 2 mm were used as a mask for the thermal neutrons. After corrections for the pedestals and gain of each pixel, we successfully obtained two-dimensional neutron images using Ce-doped LiCaAlF₆.     

Spatial distribution of moderated neutrons along a Pb target irradiated by high-energy protons

High-energy protons in the range of 0.5–7.4 GeV have irradiated an extended Pb target covered with a paraffin moderator. The moderator was used in order to shift the hard Pb spallation neutron spectrum to lower energies and to increase the transmutation efficiency via (n,γ) reactions. Neutron distributions along and inside the paraffin moderator were measured. An analysis of the experimental results was performed based on particle production by high-energy interactions with heavy targets and neutron spectrum shifting by the paraffin. Conclusions about the spallation neutron production in the target and moderation through the paraffin are presented. The study of the total neutron fluence on the moderator surface as a function of the proton beam energy shows that neutron cost is improved up to 1 GeV. For higher proton beam energies it remains constant with a tendency to decline.     

Neutron response function for a detector with He counters for the 0.39–1.54 MeV neutron energy range

An experimental study was carried out on the neutron response functions of two neutron detector arrays consisting of 39 ³He proportional counters with a polyethylene moderator for monoenergetic neutrons within the 0.39–1.54 MeV neutron energy range. Experimental data on the sensitivity of neutron counting to a change in neutron energy and the influence of the thickness of polyethylene moderator were obtained. The experimental efficiency curves were compared with the calculated response functions generated by a neutron transport code.     

Neutron detection by measuring capture gammas in a calorimetric approach

The neutron capture detector (NCD) is introduced as a novel detection scheme for thermal and epithermal neutrons that could provide large-area neutron counters by using common detector materials and proven technologies. The NCD is based on the fact that neutron captures are usually followed by prompt gamma cascades, where the sum energy of the gammas equals to the total excitation energy of typically 6-9 MeV. This large sum energy is measured in a calorimetric approach and taken as the signature of a neutron capture event. An NCD consists of a neutron converter, comprising of constituents with large elemental neutron capture cross-section like cadmium or gadolinium, which is embedded in common scintillator material. The scintillator must be large and dense enough to absorb with reasonable probability a portion of the sum energy that exceeds the energy of gammas emitted by common (natural, medical, industrial) radiation sources. An energy window, advantageously complemented with a multiplicity filter, then discriminates neutron capture signals against background. The paper presents experimental results obtained at the cold-neutron beam of the BER II research reactor, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, and at other neutron sources with a prototype NCD, consisting of four BGO crystals with embedded cadmium sheets, and with a benchmark configuration consisting of two separate NaI(Tl) detectors. The detector responses are in excellent agreement with predictions of a simulation model developed for optimizing NCD configurations. NCDs could be deployed as neutron detectors in radiation portal monitors (RPMs). Advanced modular scintillation detector systems could even combine neutron and gamma sensitivity with excellent background suppression at minimum overall expense.     

Measurement of neutron flux and beam divergence at the cold neutron guide system of the new Munich research reactor FRM-II

A sophisticated neutron guide system has been installed at the new Munich neutron source FRM-II to transport neutrons from the D₂ cold neutron source to several instruments, which are situated in a separate neutron guide hall. The guide system takes advantage of supermirror coatings and includes a worldwide unique “twisted” guide for a desired phase space transformation of the neutron beam. During the initial reactor commissioning in summer 2004, the integral and differential neutron flux as well as the distribution of beam divergence at the exit of two representative and the twisted neutron guide were measured using time-of-flight spectroscopy and gold-foil activation. The experimental results can be compared to extensive simulation calculations based on MCNP and McStas. The investigated guides fulfill the expectations of providing high neutron fluxes and reveal good quality with respect to the reflective coatings and the installation precision.     

Neutron science and technology on J-PARC

This paper has briefly reviewed a history of neutron sources in Japan and highlighted the 1 MW JSNS (Japan Spallation Neutron Source), which is a central facility of the multi-purposed J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex) to be completed in 2008. JSNS will provide worldwide users with most intense pulsed neutron beams available for a wide variety of fields ranging from fundamental research of material/life sciences to industrial/medical applications to open up a new era of science and technology.     

Acceptance diagram calculations of the performance of neutron removal mirrors

We have used the method of acceptance diagrams to compute the performance of low energy neutron removal mirrors, or “deflectors”, placed within a parallel neutron guide. Such devices are typically used to remove long wavelength neutrons from cold neutron beams. With appropriate coatings they may also be used as low energy neutron polarizers, ideally transmitting one spin state and reflecting the other spin state out of the beam. Within the small angle approximation, ignoring absorption, and representing reflectivities using unit step functions (either 0% or 100%, depending on the angle of incidence and the critical angle), the transmission probability reduces to a function of 3 ratios among 4 angles: the inclination angle of the deflector and the critical angles (which are proportional to neutron wavelength) of the upstream entrance guide, the deflector, and the guide within which the deflector is placed. The results of the acceptance diagram calculations, and of complementary ray-tracing calculations using realistic reflectivity profiles for the deflector, should benefit scientists and engineers involved in the design of neutron scattering instruments that potentially incorporate neutron deflectors.     

Measurement of neutron excitation functions using wide energy neutron beams

A technique for measuring neutron excitation functions using wide energy neutron beams is explored. Samples are activated with a set of neutron fields, each covering a relatively wide energy interval and created using an ion accelerator and conventional nuclear reactions. Measured activities are determined using gamma-ray spectrometry and reduced to excitation curves using spectrum unfolding. The technique is demonstrated on the measurement of the excitation function curve up to 5.6 MeV for ¹¹³In(n,n′)¹¹³In^m using the ¹¹⁵In(n,n′)¹¹⁵In^m reaction as an internal standard.     

T Violation in the weak scalar and tensor interaction: neutron and nuclei

The motivation and status of a search for time-reversal violation in nuclear and neutron beta decay are discussed. A new experiment for free neutron decay is proposed. A hitherto unmeasured amplitude, R, of the directional correlation J·( p×σ), between the neutron spin J, the electron momentum p and the electron spin σ, will be determined. An accuracy well below 0.01 can be achieved using an intense cold neutron beam and an electron tracking detector, where the spin sensitivity is provided by large angle Mott scattering. This study provides an unique access to the exotic scalar S and tensor T interaction. Finite values, or tight constraints on the time-reversal violating scalar components, can be deduced in a combined analysis of the proposed experiment and a precise determination of the tensor couplings from a recent study of ⁸Li decay. The great interest in weak scalar interaction is stimulated by a multitude of scalar bosons which are introduced in most extensions of the Standard Model.     

Scatter rejection in quantitative thermal and cold neutron imaging

The accuracy of quantitative neutron transmission radiography can be substantially decreased if highly scattering materials, such as water or plastics, exist in the sample. There are currently two main solutions to this problem: either performing experiments at a large distance between the detector and the sample or employ some numerical correction techniques. In the former case, the spatial resolution is substantially reduced by the limited beam divergence, while the latter correction requires a priori information about the sample and is limited to distances of above ∼2 cm. We demonstrate the feasibility of another technique, namely the possibility to remove the scattered neutron component from the transmitted neutron beam by a very compact polycapillary collimator. These ∼1 mm thick devices can be placed between the sample and the detector and remove most of the neutrons scattered at angles larger than the acceptance angle of the collimator (typically 1°). No image distortions above ∼10 μm scales are introduced by these collimators. The neutron transmission of highly scattering samples (water and plexiglass) is measured in our experiments with and without scatter rejection. In the latter case, the accuracy of measured transmission coefficient was substantially improved by our collimators.     

On coherence in neutron imaging

The variety of imaging signals in neutron radiography and tomography became quite large compared to the pure absorption and scattering contrast in neutron radiographies and topographies in the early sixties or seventies of the last century. The diversity of absorption based techniques for neutron radiography and tomography is comparable to coherence based imaging techniques such as phase contrast, differential phase contrast, dark field imaging, diffraction enhanced contrast, refraction contrast, ultra small angle scattering contrast, grating interferometry and crystal interferometry, also the spin of the neutron was successfully used for imaging [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11] and [12]. We show which effects (total reflection, diffraction, refraction) contribute to e.g. a step boundary or a phase boundary. Taking this simple object, one can learn to understand the imaging procedure and what is displayed in a radiograph.     

A neutron detector for (p,np) coincidence studies

A neutron detector with moderate energy resolution (3 MeV) has been built for neutrons in the energy range 75–175 MeV. The detector was designed for coincidence scattering experiments. The design eliminates the need for long neutron flight paths necessary for comparable energy resolution time-of-flight measurements with a comparable efficiency-solid angle product (0.02 msr). The detector consists of thin plastic scintillators in which the neutron undergoes n–p elastic scattering. The second-scattered protons are tracked by drift chambers and detected in a sodium iodide array. The design motivations and features are presented along with results from detailed in-beam experimental tests.     

GEANT4 used for neutron beam design of a neutron imaging facility at TRIGA reactor in Morocco

Neutron imaging has a broad scope of applications and has played a pivotal role in visualizing and quantifying hydrogenous masses in metallic matrices. The field continues to expand into new applications with the installation of new neutron imaging facilities.In this scope, a neutron imaging facility for computed tomography and real-time neutron radiography is currently being developed around 2.0MW TRIGA MARK-II reactor at Maamora Nuclear Research Center in Morocco (Reuscher et al., 1990 [1]; de Menezes et al., 2003 [2]; Deinert et al., 2005 [3]).The neutron imaging facility consists of neutron collimator, real-time neutron imaging system and imaging process systems. In order to reduce the gamma-ray content in the neutron beam, the tangential channel was selected. For power of 250 kW, the corresponding thermal neutron flux measured at the inlet of the tangential channel is around 3×10¹¹ ncm²/s.This facility will be based on a conical neutron collimator with two circular diaphragms with diameters of 4 and 2 cm corresponding to L/D-ratio of 165 and 325, respectively. These diaphragms' sizes allow reaching a compromise between good flux and efficient L/D-ratio. Convergent-divergent collimator geometry has been adopted.The beam line consists of a gamma filter, fast neutrons filter, neutron moderator, neutron and gamma shutters, biological shielding around the collimator and several stages of neutron collimator. Monte Carlo calculations by a fully 3D numerical code GEANT4 were used to design the neutron beam line (http://www.info.cern.ch/asd/geant4/geant4.html[4]).To enhance the neutron thermal beam in terms of quality, several materials, mainly bismuth (Bi) and sapphire (Al₂O₃) were examined as gamma and neutron filters respectively. The GEANT4 simulations showed that the gamma and epithermal and fast neutron could be filtered using the bismuth (Bi) and sapphire (Al₂O₃) filters, respectively.To get a good cadmium ratio, GEANT 4 simulations were used to define the design of the moderator in the inlet of the radiation channel. A graphite block of 22 cm thickness seems to be the optimal neutron moderator.The results showed that the combination of 5 cm of bismuth with 5 cm of sapphire permits the filtration of gamma-rays, epithermal neutrons as well as fast neutrons in a considerable way without affecting the neutron thermal flux.     

A highly adaptive detector system for high resolution neutron imaging

An optimized detector system that allows high-resolution neutron imaging with desired flexibility is described. The presented system can be adapted and integrated with standard CCD-based neutron detectors. Novel neutron scintillating materials with good photon discrimination and optical lens components are tested and optimized for high-resolution neutron tomographic purposes. The presented detector system provides variable field of view and can be used in combination with different techniques, including dark-field, energy-selective, and neutron spin polarized imaging.     

Cross-section model for cold neutron scattering in solid and liquid methane

Incoherent neutron scattering cross-sections for solid CH₄ in the temperature range of 20.4–90.7 K and liquid CH₄ at temperatures between 90.7 and 111.7 K are evaluated. A space–time correlation approach is used to describe a double-differential scattering cross-section which is basically expressed by a generalized frequency distribution. The cross-section model includes molecular translations and rotations as well as intramolecular vibrations. The former are concerned with very short-time free-gas like translation, short-lived vibration and long-time diffusion (only in liquid state). The latter consists of short-time free rotation and long-time isotropic rotational diffusion. Numerical calculations on double-differential and total cross-sections are carried out for incident neutron energies covered 0.1 μeV to 10 eV. Good agreement with experimental results at many different temperatures is found.     

Evaluation of large deuterated scintillators for fast neutron detection (E=0.5-20 MeV) using the D(d,n)He, C(d,n) and Al(d,n) reactions

The response of large deuterated liquid scintillators (up to 10 cm diameter by 15 cm) to neutrons 0.5-20 MeV has been studied using the 2.5 MeV neutron generator at the University of Michigan, and the d(d,n), ¹³C(d,n), ²⁷Al(d,n) and other reactions at the University of Notre Dame FN tandem accelerator. The latter utilize 9 and 16 MeV deuteron beams including a pulsed beam, which permitted time-of-flight measurements. Combining pulse-shape discrimination and time-of-flight allows gating on specific neutron energy groups to determine the detector response to specific neutron energies. This will permit accurate simulation of the detector response functions for applications of these detectors in nuclear research and homeland security applications.