兰州大学的中子发生器研制及应用展望

1988年兰州大学成功研制了3×10¹² s^-1的ZF-300强流中子发生器,主要用于核数据测量、材料辐照损伤等研究。为进一步开展活化法中子核数据测量、裂变物理等研究,兰州大学启动了基于倍压加速器的ZF-400强流中子发生器研制工程,该中子发生器的设计指标为D束流能量400 keV、D束流强度大于30 mA、D-D中子产额大于5×10¹⁰ s^-1,D-T中子产额大于5×10¹² s^-1。在裂变物理研究方面,已成功发展了描述裂变核断点裂变势的势驱动模型（potential-driving model）,并开展了中子诱发典型锕系核素裂变发射中子前裂变产物的质量分布计算研究;将potential-driving model植入Geant4程序,发展了用于裂变发射中子后裂变产物质量分布、动能分布、裂变中子能谱等模拟的蒙特卡罗方法,并开展了可靠性评估研究;研制了一套用于裂变产物实验测量的双屏栅电离室（TFGIC）,并完成了初步实验测试。在中子应用技术方面,为满足小型化中子应用技术系统的研发需求,兰州大学成功研制了长度984 mm、直径234 mm的紧凑型中子发生器,通过在引出加速电极和靶之间加电阻的方式产生偏置电场,实现对靶上二次电子的抑制。在自注入靶条件和150 keV氘束流能量下,D-D中子产额可大于5×10⁸ s^-1,该中子发生器已具备产生D-T中子产额大于10¹⁰ s^-1量级的潜力。完成了基于紧凑型D-T中子发生器的快中子准直屏蔽体的设计,并研发了基于微通道板的快中子成像探测器,初步D-T快中成像测试显示,图像空间分辨率约为500 μm。开展了基于紧凑型D-D中子发生器的核燃料棒²³⁵U富集度及均匀性检测系统研发,仿真研究表明,在D-D中子产额5×10⁸ s^-1条件下,对核燃料棒中10%范围内的²³⁵U富集度相对变化的检测置信度可达到99%。     

Oxide Coated Cathode Plasma Source of Linear Magnetized Plasma Device

Plasma source is the most important part of the laboratory plasma platform for fundamental plasma experimental research. Barium oxide coated cathode plasma source is well recognized as an effective technique due to its high electron emission current. An indirectly heated oxide coated cathode plasma source has been constructed on a linear magnetized plasma device. The electron emission current density can reach 2 A/cm 2 to 6 A/cm ² in pulsed mode within pulse length 5–20 ms. A 10 cm diameter, 2 m long plasma column with density 10 ¹⁸ m ⁻³ to 10 ¹⁹ m ³ and electron temperature T_e ≈ 3–7 eV is produced. The spatial uniformity of the emission ability is less than 4% and the discharge reproducibility is better than 97%. With a wide range of the plasma parameters, this kind of plasma source provides great flexibility for many basic plasma investigations. The detail of construction and initial characterization of oxide coated cathode are described in this paper.     

Experimental investigation on the evolution of plasma properties in the discharge channel of a pulsed plasma thruster

Pulsed plasma thrusters(PPTs) are an attractive form of micro-thrusters due to advantages such as their compactness and lightweight design compared to other electric propulsion systems.Experimental investigations on their plasma properties are beneficial in clarifying the complex process of plasma evolution during the micro-second pulse discharge of a PPT. In this work, the multi-dimensional evolutions of the light intensity of the PPT plasma with wavelength, time, and position were identified. The plasma pressure was obtained using an iterative process with composition calculations. The results show that significant ion recombination occurred in the discharge channel since the line intensities of CII, CIII, CIV, and FII decreased and those of CI and FI increased as the plasma moved downstream. At the center of the discharge channel, the electron temperature and electron density were in the order of 10 000 K and 10~(17) cm~(-3),respectively. These had maximum values of 13 750 K and 2.3?×?10~(17) cm~(-3) and the maximum temperature occurred during the first half-cycle while the maximum number density was measured during the second half-cycle. The estimated plasma pressure was in the order of 10~5 Pa and exhibited a maximum value of 2.69?×?10~5 Pa.     

Neutron-induced radiation damage in silicon detectors

Ion-implanted silicon pad detectors fabricated on different n-type and p-type silicon wafers with initial resistivities between 2.6 and 12.9 kΩcm were irradiated with neutrons of ~1 MeV energy, up to a fluence of 5×10¹³ n cm^-2. The evolution of diode leakage current and capacitance characteristics is presented as a function of the neutron fluence. The reverse diode current increases proportionally to the neutron fluence. There is evidence that the doping of the initial n-type material evolves towards intrinsic and inverts to an apparent p-type at fluences between 1×10¹³ and 3×10¹³ n cm^-2, depending on the initial silicon resistivity. There is also evidence that p-type material remains of the same conduction type with a slight increase of the acceptor doping with fluence. The signal shape and the charge collection efficiency for incident β particles were measured     

Development of a helicon-wave excited plasma facility with high magnetic field for plasma-wall interactions studies

The high magnetic field helicon experiment system is a helicon wave plasma(HWP)source device in a high axial magnetic field(B_0)developed for plasma–wall interactions studies for fusion reactors.This HWP was realized at low pressure(5?×?10~(-3)?-?10 Pa)and a RF(radio frequency,13.56 MHz)power(maximum power of 2 k W)using an internal right helical antenna(5 cm in diameter by 18 cm long)with a maximum B_0of 6300 G.Ar HWP with electron density~10~(18)–10~(20)m~(-3)and electron temperature~4–7 e V was produced at high B_0 of 5100 G,with an RF power of 1500 W.Maximum Ar~+ion flux of 7.8?×?10~(23)m~(-2)s~(-1)with a bright blue core plasma was obtained at a high B_0 of 2700 G and an RF power of 1500 W without bias.Plasma energy and mass spectrometer studies indicate that Ar~+ion-beams of 40.1 eV are formed,which are supersonic(~3.1c_s).The effect of Ar HWP discharge cleaning on the wall conditioning are investigated by using the mass spectrometry.And the consequent plasma parameters will result in favorable wall conditioning with a removal rate of 1.1?×?10~(24)N_2/m~2 h.     

Exposure of Equal-Channel Angular Extruded Tungsten to Deuterium Plasma

Surface morphology and deuterium retention in ultrafine-grained tungsten fabricated by equal-channel angular pressing(ECAP) have been examined after exposure to a low energy,high-flux deuterium(D) plasma at fluences of 3×10~(24) D/m~2 and 1×10~(25) D/m~2 in a temperature range of 100 ℃-150 ℃.The methods used were scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and thermal desorption spectroscopy(TDS).Sparse and small blisters(~0.1 μm) were observed by SEM after D plasma irradiation on every irradiated surface;yet they did not exhibit significant structure or plasma fluence dependence.Larger blisters or protrusions appeared after subsequent TDS heating up to 1000 ℃.The TDS results showed a single D desorption peak at ~220℃ for all samples and the D retention increased with increasing numbers of extrusion passes,i.e.,the decrease of grain sizes.The increased D retention in this low temperature range should be attributed to the faster diffusion of D along the larger volume fraction of grain boundaries introduced by ECAP.     

Estimation of plasma density perturbation from dusty plasma injection by laser irradiation on tungsten target in DiPS

To investigate the interaction of dusty plasma with magnetized plasmas at divertor plasma simulator, radial profiles of plasma density(ne) and electron temperature were measured in terms of plasma discharge currents and magnetic flux intensity by using a fast scanning probes system with triple tips. Dusty plasma with dusts(a generation rate of 3 μg s~(-1) and a size of 1–10 μm)was produced via interactions between a high-power laser beam and a full tungsten target. As ne increases, the scale of the effects of dusty plasma injection on magnetized plasmas was decreased. Also, the duration of transient fluctuation was reduced. For numerical estimation of plasma density perturbation due to dusty plasma injection, the result was ~10% at a core region of the magnetized plasma with n_e of(2–5)×10~(11) cm~(-3) at steady state condition.     

Investigation on the characteristics of an atmospheric-pressure microplasma plume confined inside a long capillary tube

An atmospheric-pressure microplasma plume of diameter 10 μm is generated inside a long tube. The length of the microplasma plume reaches as much as 2 cm. First, with the assistance of an air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), the ignition voltage of the microplasma decreases from 40 kV to 23.6 kV. Second, although the current density reaches as high as (1.2−7.6)×10⁴ A cm ⁻² , comparable to the current density in transient spark discharge, the microplasma plume is non- thermal. Third, it is interesting to observe that the amplitude of the discharge current in a positive cycle of applied voltage is much lower than that in a negative cycle of applied voltage. Fourth, the electron density measured by the Stark broadening of Ar spectral line 696.5nm reaches as high as 3×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ , which yields a conductivity of the microplasma column of around 48 S m⁻¹ . In addition, the propagation velocity of the microplasma plume, obtained from light signals at different axial positions, ranges from 1×10⁵ m s ⁻¹ to 5×10 ⁵ m s⁻¹ . A detailed analysis reveals that the surface charges deposited on the inner wall exert significant influence on the discharge behavior of the microplasma.     

Characteristics of GaAs buffered FET logic (BFL) MESFETs andinverters exposed to high-energy neutrons

A systematic investigation of the effects of high-energy neutrons on GaAs metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs) and buffered FET logic (BFL) gates has been carried out. Discrete transistors, inverters, and ring oscillators were characterized and modeled as a function of neutron fluence. Measurements were made of the threshold voltage shifts, the transconductance degradation, and saturation current degradation of GaAs depletion mode MESFETs, which comprise the BFL logic gates, irradiated with neutron fluences ranging from 5×10¹³ n/cm² to 2×10¹⁵ n/cm² (for particle energies above 10 keV). The threshold voltage was found to shift positively by 0.45 V, the transconductance decreased to 3%, and the saturation current to 1% of their unirradiated values at the highest neutron fluence (2×10¹⁵ n/cm²). The BFL inverter characteristics were measured and successfully simulated with SPICE using device parameters extracted from the neutron-damaged FETs. Ring oscillator measurements were made to determine the effects of high-energy neutrons on the frequency performance of BFL circuits. The ring oscillator frequency decreased to 9% of its unirradiated value at the highest neutron fluence     

Numerical Experiments on PF1000 Neutron Yield

Numerical experiments are carried out, using the Lee model code to compute the neutron yield Y_n of PF1000 as a function of pressure. Computed results are compared with available published results of neutron yield. Relevant plasma focus properties such as peak discharge current I_peak, pinch current I_pinch, pinch ion density n_i and energy input into the pinch EINP are also discussed as functions of pressures so as to provide correlation of Y_n with relevant plasma focus properties over the operational range of pressures.     

AB-BNCT中子靶物理设计分析

质子加速器适用于为硼中子俘获治疗提供中子源,其中子源强及能谱较反应堆中子源更具可调性。中子靶物理计算分析是加速器中子源设计的基础,为其提供粒子能量、流强等参数需求分析,并为靶体结构尺寸设计、中子慢化和屏蔽分析等提供前端参数。本文利用MCNPX蒙特卡罗程序,通过对质子打靶的中子产额和能谱、靶体能量沉积、打靶后靶材放射性活度和中子出射空间角分布等进行研究,提出能量2.5 MeV质子轰击100～200 μm锂靶的设计,并用模拟计算数据论证其合理性。该设计中子源在1 mA流强质子轰击下,源强可达9.74×10¹¹ s^-1;拟设计15 mA、2.5 MeV质子束产生的中子源,在治疗过程中靶材放射性活度累积最大值约为1.44×10¹³ Bq。     

利用HFETR制备有载体177Lu

¹⁷⁷Lu是一种优良的诊疗一体化医用放射性核素,其标记的放射性药物被广泛用于多种癌症的诊断和治疗。其中,有载体¹⁷⁷Lu的制备具有放射化学处理简单、¹⁷⁷Lu产量高等优点。为此,在高通量工程试验堆(HFETR)中利用热中子辐照¹⁷⁶Lu,开展有载体¹⁷⁷Lu的制备研究。本研究分别辐照天然Lu和富集¹⁷⁶Lu进行热实验验证,结果表明：天然Lu在2×10¹⁴ n·cm^-2·s^-1热中子通量下辐照13 d,生成¹⁷⁷Lu比活度约为0.87 Ci/mg,^177mLu杂质含量为0.009%;富集(86.5%)¹⁷⁶Lu在热中子注量率为1×10¹⁴ n·cm^-2·s^-1条件下辐照28 d,生成¹⁷⁷Lu比活度约为24.9 Ci/mg,^177m...     

Measurement ofHe2* density with an auxiliary measuring electrode in atmospheric pressure plasma jet

In this study, the density of metastable He₂* in an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet operating in helium with 0.001% nitrogen has been measured using an auxiliary measuring electrode technique. In the glow discharge mode, waveforms from two grounding electrodes, including one main discharge electrode and one auxiliary electrode, are captured. The isolated current peak formed by Penning ionization in waveforms from the auxiliary measuring electrode is identified to calculate the density of metastable He₂*. In our discharge environment, the helium metastable densities along the jet axis direction are between 2.26× 10¹³ and 1.74× 10¹³ cm^-3, which is in good agreement with the results measured by other techniques. This measurement technique can be conveniently applied to the diagnosis of metastableHe₂* in an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet array.     

Cold neutron source at KAERI, Korea

The HANARO (High-flux Advance Neutron Application ReactOr), an open tank in a pool type multi-purpose research reactor, generating a high neutron flux (fast: 2.1 × 10¹⁴ n/cm²/s, thermal flux: 5 × 10¹⁴ n/cm²/s) has been operating at 30 MWth since its first criticality in February 1995. The HANARO provides neutrons to various utilization and research groups for global competition. Based on the world-wide trend for an availability of cold neutrons and the national demand for taking full advantage of such a strong neutron source, Korean government decided to commence with the cold neutron source (CNS) project at the HANARO on 2003. The HANARO will be equipped with a vertical liquid hydrogen-moderated CNS within the next 3 years. A moderator cell, made of 1 mm thickness of aluminium 6061-T6, whose shape is a double cylinder type and is connected to a heat exchanger, establishing two phase flow by a natural convection. These components are contained in the vacuum chamber. The cold neutron flux will be 3.9 × 10⁹ n/cm²/s at the reactor face and approximately 8.4 × 10⁸ n/cm²/s at the location of the instruments. This paper presents the current status and future prospect of the CNS project driven by KAERI, Korea.     

Numerical study on the modulation of THz wave propagation by collisional microplasma photonic crystal

In order to demonstrate the modulation of terahertz wave propagation in atmospheric pressure microplasmas, in this work, the band structure and the transmission characteristics of a onedimensional collisional microplasma photonic crystal are investigated, using the transfer matrix method. For a lattice constant of 150 μm and a plasma width of 100 μm, three stopbands of microplasma photonic crystal are observed, in a frequency range of 0.1–5 THz. Firstly, an increase in gas pressure leads to a decrease in the central frequency of the stopband. When the gas pressure increases from 50.5 kPa to 202 kPa, the transmission coefficient of the THz wave first increases and then decreases at high frequency, where the wave frequency is much greater than both the plasma frequency and the collision frequency. Secondly, it is interesting to find that the central frequency and the bandwidth of the first THz stopband remain almost unchanged for electron densities of less than 10¹⁵ cm^–3, increasing significantly when the electron density increases up to 10¹⁶ cm^–3. A central frequency shift of 110 GHz, and a bandgap broadening of 200 GHz in the first stopband are observed. In addition, an atmospheric pressure microplasma with the electron density of 1 × 10¹⁵–6 × 10¹⁵ cm^–3 is recommended for the modulation of THz wave propagation by plasma photonic crystals.     

Characteristics of GaAs MESFET inverters exposed to high energyneutrons

GaAs MESFET circuits were exposed to high-energy neutrons with fluences ranging from 1×10¹⁴ n/cm² to 2×10¹⁵ n/cm². The reflections of discrete transistors, inverters, and ring oscillators were characterized at each fluence. While the MESFETs exhibit significant threshold voltage shifts and transconductance and saturation current degradation over this range of neutron fluences, an improvement in the DC characteristics of Schottky diode FET logic (SDFL) inverters was observed. This unusual result has been successfully simulated using device parameters extracted from FETs damaged by exposure to high-energy neutrons. Although the decrease in device transconductance results in an increase in inverter gate delay as reflected in ring oscillator frequency measurements, it is concluded that GaAs ICs fabricated from this logic family will remain functional after exposure to extreme neutron fluences. This is a consequence of the observed improvement in inverter noise margin evident in both measured and simulated circuit performance     

A relativistic canonical symplectic particlein-cell method for energetic plasma analysis

A relativistic canonical symplectic particle-in-cell(RCSPIC) method for simulating energetic plasma processes is established. By use of the Hamiltonian for the relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell system, we obtain a discrete relativistic canonical Hamiltonian dynamical system, based on which the RCSPIC method is constructed by applying the symplectic temporal discrete method.Through a 10~6-step numerical test, the RCSPIC method is proven to possess long-term energy stability. The ability to calculate energetic plasma processes is shown by simulations of the reflection processes of a high-energy laser(1?×?10~(20) W cm~(-2)) on the plasma edge.     

Spectral characteristic of laser-induced plasma in soil

The spectral characteristic of laser-induced plasma in soil was studied in this work, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy was used to analyze the spectral characteristic of plasma under the condition of different time delays and irradiances. Moreover, the time evolution characteristics of plasma temperature and electron density were discussed. Within the time delay range of 0-5 μs,the spectral intensity of the characteristic lines of Si I: 288.158 nm, Ti I: 336.126 nm, Al I:394.400 nm and Fe I: 438.354 nm of the four main elements in two kinds of national standard soil decayed exponentially with time. The average lifetime of the spectral lines was nearly 1.56 μs. Under the condition of different time delays, the spectral intensity of Pb I: 405.78 nm in soil increased linearly with laser energy. However, the slope between the spectral intensity and laser energy decreased exponentially with the increase in time delay, from 4.91 to 0.99 during 0-5 μs. The plasma temperature was calculated by the Boltzmann plot method and the electron density was obtained by inversion of the full width at half maximum of the spectrum. The plasma temperature decreased from 8900 K to 7800 K and the electron density decreased from 1.5 × 10~(17) cm~(-3) to 7.8 × 10~(16) cm~(-3) in the range of 0-5 μs.     

石墨双晶单色器性能检验及应用

中子能量选择成像作为一种前沿中子成像技术,可实现传统白光中子照相技术无法实现的功能,如研究工程材料中的晶粒分布、应变/应力分布、织构测量和相变分析等。本文依托中国先进研究堆(CARR)上的中子成像测试平台,在国内首次研制了石墨双晶单色器,建立能量选择中子成像技术。飞行时间实验测试结果表明,该双晶石墨单色器在选择4×10^-10 m的中子时波长分辨率可达2.6%,优于3.0%的设计指标。虽然在冷源未开启的实验条件下该石墨双晶单色器产生了较多的次级中子,但基于现有条件开展的镍基高温合金的中子能量选择成像实验能清楚分辨特定取向微晶粒的形貌及分布。结果表明研制的石墨双晶单色器可在CARR上开展能量选择成像实验,随着未来CARR冷源的开启,次级中子数量降低,中子束流品质进一步提高,将开展高质量的中子能量选择成像实验。