Design and implementation of the monochromator shielding for the cold neutron spectrometers XINGZHI and BOYA

An innovative monochromator shielding is designed and implemented for the cold neutron spectrometers XINGZHI and BOYA operated by Renmin University of China at China Advanced Research Reactor.Via Monte Carlo simulations and careful mechanical designs,a shielding configuration has been successfully developed to satisfy safety requirements of below 3μSv/h dose rate at its exterior,meanwhile fulfilling space,floor load and nonmagnetic requirements.Composite materials are utilized to form the sandwich-type shielding walls:the inner layer of boron carbide rubber,the middle layer of steel-encased lead and the outer layer of borated polyethylene.Special-shaped liftable shielding blocks are incorporated to facilitate a continuous adjustment of the neutron energy while preventing radiation leakage.Our work has demonstrated that by utilizing composite shielding materials,along with the sandwich structure and liftable shielding blocks,a compact and lightweight shielding solution can be achieved.This enables the realization of advanced neutron scattering instruments that provide expanded space of measurement,larger energy and momentum coverage,and higher flux on the sample.This shielding represents the first of its kind in neutron scattering instruments in China.Following its successful operation,it has been subsequently employed by other neutron instruments across the country.

Artificial neural network-based method for discriminating Compton scattering events in high-purity germaniumγ-ray spectrometer

To detect radioactive substances with low activity levels,an anticoincidence detector and a high-purity germanium(HPGe)detector are typically used simultaneously to suppress Compton scattering background,thereby resulting in an extremely low detection limit and improving the measurement accuracy.However,the complex and expensive hardware required does not facilitate the application or promotion of this method.Thus,a method is proposed in this study to discriminate the digital waveform of pulse signals output using an HPGe detector,whereby Compton scattering background is suppressed and a low minimum detectable activity(MDA)is achieved without using an expensive and complex anticoincidence detector and device.The electric-field-strength and energy-deposition distributions of the detector are simulated to determine the relationship between pulse shape and energy-deposition location,as well as the characteristics of energy-deposition distributions for fulland partial-energy deposition events.This relationship is used to develop a pulse-shape-discrimination algorithm based on an artificial neural network for pulse-feature identification.To accurately determine the relationship between the deposited energy of gamma(γ)rays in the detector and the deposition location,we extract four shape parameters from the pulse signals output by the detector.Machine learning is used to input the four shape parameters into the detector.Subsequently,the pulse signals are identified and classified to discriminate between partial-and full-energy deposition events.Some partial-energy deposition events are removed to suppress Compton scattering.The proposed method effectively decreases the MDA of an HPGeγ-energy dispersive spectrometer.Test results show that the Compton suppression factors for energy spectra obtained from measurements on ^(152)Eu,^(137)Cs,and ^(60)Co radioactive sources are 1.13(344 keV),1.11(662 keV),and 1.08(1332 keV),respectively,and that the corresponding MDAs are 1.4%,5.3%,and 21.6%lower,respectively.

Design and calibration of an elliptical crystal spectrometer for the diagnosis of proton-induced x-ray emission(PIXE)

Laser-driven proton-induced x-ray emission(laser-PIXE) is a nuclear analysis method based on the compact laser ion accelerator. Due to the transient process of ion acceleration, the laser-PIXE signals are usually spurted within nanoseconds and accompanied by strong electromagnetic pulses(EMP), so traditional multi-channel detectors are no longer applicable.In this work, we designed a reflective elliptical crystal spectrometer for the diagnosis of laser-PIXE. The device can detect the energy range of 1 keV–11 ke V with a high resolution. A calibration experiment was completed on the electrostatic accelerator of Peking University using samples of Al, Ti, Cu, and ceramic artifacts. The detection efficiency of the elliptical crystal spectrometer was obtained in the order of 10-9.

Accuracy analysis of iron content of galvanized coating using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer with an L-spectrum

The accuracy(repeatability and reproducibility) of the iron content analysis of galvanized coating using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer with an L-spectrum is not better than that of flame atomic absorption spectrometry, sometimes it exceeds the quality control limit.Influences, such as current, voltage, equipment(internal circulating water, 10%CH4+90%Ar, and vacuum) checking, instrument monitoring, sample cleaning, and oper-ators, were investigated by means of 6-sigma and lean operations to improve accuracy.

Evaluation of Uncertainty in Determination of Ethyl Maltol in Vegetable Oil by Ultra-high Performance Liquid Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer(UPLC-MS)

[Objectives]This study was conducted to establish an uncertainty evaluation method for the determination of ethyl maltol by ultra-high performance liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer(UPLC-MS).[Methods]A mathematical model of uncertainty was established by analyzing the method for determining ethyl maltol using UPLC-MS.The sources of uncertainty were analyzed,and the components of uncertainty were calculated to evaluate the expanded uncertainty of the method.[Results]When the content of ethyl maltol in edible vegetable oil was 1657μg/kg,the expanded uncertainty was 22.4μg/kg(K=2,P=95%).[Conclusions]The uncertainty in this evaluation model mainly came from standard solution preparation,sample weighing,dilution of sample to constant volume,standard curve fitting,and repeated measurement.

Factors Influencing the Electron Yield of Needle-Ring Pulsed Corona Discharge Electron Source for Negative Ion Mobility Spectrometer

A simple negative ion mobility spectrometer （IMS） is designed and used to investi- gate the factors that influence the number and efficiency of electrons generated by the needle-ring pulsed corona discharge electron source. Simulation with Ansoft Maxwell 12 is carried out to analyze the electric field distribution within the IMS, and to offer the basis and foundation for analyzing the measurement results. The measurement results of the quantities of electrons show that when the drift electric field strength and the ring inner diameter rise, both the number of ef- fective electrons and the effective electron rate are increased. When the discharge voltage becomes stronger, the number of effective electrons goes up while the effective electron rate goes down. In light of the simulation results, mechanisms underlying the effects of drift electric field strength, ring inner diameter, and discharge voltage on the effective electron number and effective electron rate are discussed. These will make great sense for designing negative ion mode IMS using the needle-ring pulsed corona discharge as the electron source.

Correction and verification of HL-2A Tokamak Bonner sphere spectrometer in monoenergetic neutron fields from 100 keV to 5 MeV

A real-time Bonner sphere spectrometer(BSS)has been developed for spectral neutron measurements with the HL-2A Tokamak.To correct and verify the accuracy of the neutron spectrum from the BSS,the BSS system was calibrated using monoenergetic neutron beams in the energy range of 100 keV–5 MeV.The response function of the BSS was corrected based on the calibration results,and the corrected BSS system was verified by unfolding monoenergetic neutron spectra.Fusion neutron spectra on the HL-2A have been obtained from the calibrated BSS system for the first time.

A Satellite-borne Miniature Ion Mass Spectrometer for Space Plasma

The miniature design technology is an important trend in space exploration.Mass spectrometer is used extensively in the space environment detection.The miniature ion mass spectrometer utilizes a 127° cylindrical electrostatic analyzer accompanied with a Time of Flight(TOF)unit based on ultrathin carbon foil to measure the energy spectra and composition of space plasma.The Time of Flight technique has been used broadly in space plasma measurement.A new type of miniature method for the ion mass spectrometer is introduced.The total mass of the instrument is1.8 kg and the total power consumption is 2.0 W.The calibration results show that the energy measurement range is 8.71~43550eV,the energy resolution is 1.86%and the ion mass from 1 amu(1 amu= 1.67 × 10^(-27)kg) to 58 amu can be resolved by the miniature mass spectrometer.The miniature ion mass spectrometer also has a potential to be increased in the field of view by an electrostatic deflecting system to extend its application in space plasma detection.The miniature ion mass spectrometer has been selected for pre-study of Chinese Strategic Priority Research Program on Space Science.

Operating principles and detection characteristics of the Visible and Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer in the Chang'e-3

The Visible and Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer （VNIS）, using two acousto-optic tunable filters as dispersive components, consists of a VIS/NIR imag- ing spectrometer （0.45-0.95 μm）, a shortwave IR spectrometer （0.9-2.4 p.m） and a calibration unit with dust-proofing functionality. The VNIS was utilized to detect the spectrum of the lunar surface and achieve in-orbit calibration, which satisfied the re- quirements for scientific detection. Mounted at the front of the Yutu rover, lunar ob- jects that are detected with the VNIS with a 45° visual angle to obtain spectra and ge- ometrical data in order to analyze the mineral composition of the lunar surface. After landing successfully on the Moon, the VNIS performed several explorations and cal- ibrations, and obtained several spectral images and spectral reflectance curves of the lunar soil in the region of Mare Imbrium. This paper describes the working principle and detection characteristics of the VNIS and provides a reference for data processing and scientific applications.

A real-time neutron-gamma discriminator based on the support vector machine method for the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer

A new neutron-gamma discriminator based on the support vector machine(SVM) method is proposed to improve the performance of the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer. The neutron detector is an EJ-299-33 plastic scintillator with pulse-shape discrimination(PSD) property. The SVM algorithm is implemented in field programmable gate array(FPGA) to carry out the real-time sifting of neutrons in neutron-gamma mixed radiation fields. This study compares the ability of the pulse gradient analysis method and the SVM method. The results show that this SVM discriminator can provide a better discrimination accuracy of 99.1%. The accuracy and performance of the SVM discriminator based on FPGA have been evaluated in the experiments. It can get a figure of merit of 1.30.

Multi-wavelength measurements of aerosol optical absorption coefficients using a photoacoustic spectrometer

The atmospheric aerosol absorption capacity is a critical parameter determining its direct and indirect effects on cli- mate. Accurate measurement is highly desired for the study of the radiative budget of the Earth. A multi-wavelength （405 rim, 532 nm, 780 nm） aerosol absorption meter based on photoacoustic spectroscopy （PAS） invovling a single cylin- drical acoustic resonator is developed for measuring the aerosol optical absorption coefficients （OACs）. A sensitivity of 1.3 Mm-l （at 532 nm） is demonstrated. The aerosol absorption meter is successfully tested through measuring the OACs of atmospheric nigrosin and ambient aerosols in the suburbs of Hefei city. The absorption cross section and absorption Angstrom exponent （AAE） for ambient aerosol are determined for characterizing the component of the ambient aerosol.

Characterization of Organic Aerosols in Beijing Using an Aerodyne High-Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer

Fine particle of organic aerosol （OA）, mostly arising from pollution, are abundant in Beijing. To achieve a better un- derstanding of the difference in OA in summer and autumn, a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer （HR- ToF-AMS, Aerodyne Research Inc., USA） was deployed in urban Beijing in August and October 2012. The mean OA mass concentration in autumn was 30 4-30 μg m-3, which was higher than in summer （13 4-6.9 μg m-3）. The elemental anal- ysis found that OA was more aged in summer （oxygen-to-carbon （O/C） ratios were 0.41 and 0.32 for summer and autumn, respectively）. Positive matrix factorization （PMF） analysis identified three and five components in summer and autumn, re- spectively. In summer, an oxygenated OA （OOA）, a cooking-emission-related OA （COA）, and a hydrocarbon-like OA （HOA） were indentified. Meanwhile, the OOA was separated into LV-OOA （low-volatility OOA） and SV-OOA （semi-volatile OOA）; and in autumn, a nitrogen-containing OA （NOA） was also found. The SOA （secondary OA） was always the most important OA component, accounting for 55% of the OA in the two seasons. Back trajectory clustering analysis found that the origin of the air masses was more complex in summer. Southerly air masses in both seasons were associated with the highest OA loading, while northerly air masses were associated with the lowest OA loading. A preliminary study of OA components, especially the POA （primary OA）, in different periods found that the HOA and COA all decreased during the National Day holiday period, and HOA decreased at weekends compared with weekdays.

Methods for obtaining characteristic γ-ray net peak count from interlaced overlap peak in HPGe γ-ray spectrometer system

For a characteristic c-ray with interlaced overlap peak, and the case where its reliable and credible net count cannot be obtained using the current high-purity germanium(HPGe) multichannel γ-ray spectrum software, two new methods are proposed herein to obtain the γ-ray net peak count from the interlaced overlap peak in the HPGe cray spectrometer system, of which one is the symmetric conversion method based on Gaussian distribution and the other is where the energy average value of two close γ-rays is regarded as the γ-ray energy. The experimental results indicate that the two methods mentioned above are reliable and credible. This study is significant for the development of better γ-ray spectrum processing software for measuring complex γ-ray spectra concerning the nuclear reaction cross section, neutron activation analysis, and analysis of transuranium elements, using an HPGe detector.

Early detection of pine wilt disease in Pinus tabuliformis in North China using a field portable spectrometer and UAV-based hyperspectral imagery

Background:Pine wilt disease(PWD)is a major ecological concern in China that has caused severe damage to millions of Chinese pines(Pinus tabulaeformis).To control the spread of PWD,it is necessary to develop an effective approach to detect its presence in the early stage of infection.One potential solution is the use of Unmanned Airborne Vehicle(UAV)based hyperspectral images(HIs).UAV-based HIs have high spatial and spectral resolution and can gather data rapidly,potentially enabling the effective monitoring of large forests.Despite this,few studies examine the feasibility of HI data use in assessing the stage and severity of PWD infection in Chinese pine.Method:To fill this gap,we used a Random Forest(RF)algorithm to estimate the stage of PWD infection of trees sampled using UAV-based HI data and ground-based data(data directly collected from trees in the field).We compared relative accuracy of each of these data collection methods.We built our RF model using vegetation indices(VIs),red edge parameters(REPs),moisture indices(MIs),and their combination.Results:We report several key results.For ground data,the model that combined all parameters(OA:80.17%,Kappa:0.73)performed better than VIs(OA:75.21%,Kappa:0.66),REPs(OA:79.34%,Kappa:0.67),and MIs(OA:74.38%,Kappa:0.65)in predicting the PWD stage of individual pine tree infection.REPs had the highest accuracy(OA:80.33%,Kappa:0.58)in distinguishing trees at the early stage of PWD from healthy trees.UAV-based HI data yielded similar results:the model combined VIs,REPs and MIs(OA:74.38%,Kappa:0.66)exhibited the highest accuracy in estimating the PWD stage of sampled trees,and REPs performed best in distinguishing healthy trees from trees at early stage of PWD(OA:71.67%,Kappa:0.40).Conclusion:Overall,our results confirm the validity of using HI data to identify pine trees infected with PWD in its early stage,although its accuracy must be improved before widespread use is practical.We also show UAV-based data PWD classifications are less accurate but comparable to those of ground-based data.We believe that these results can be used to improve preventative measures in the control of PWD.

Development of the real-time double-ring fusion neutron time-of-flight spectrometer system at HL-2M

A real-time double-ring neutron time-of-flight(TOFII) spectrometer system has been proposed to achieve plasma diagnosis on HL-2M tokamak with a relatively high count rate and sufficient energy resolution.The TOFII system is in its development stage,and this work describes its characteristics in terms of design principle,system structure,electronic system design,preliminary tests,and neutron transport simulation.The preliminary test results illustrate that the TOFII system can demonstrate the realtime dynamic spectrum every 10 ms.The results also show that based on the support vector machine method,the n-γ discrimination algorithm achieves the discrimination accuracy of 99.1%with a figure of merit of 1.30,and the intrinsic timing resolution of the system is within 0.3%.The simulated flight time spectrums from 1 to 5 MeV are obtained through the Monte Carlo tool Geant4,which also provide the reasonable results.The TOFII system will then be calibrated on mono-energetic neutron sources for further verification.

Time series data correction for the Chang'E-1 gamma-ray spectrometer

The main goal of the gamma-ray spectrometer（GRS） onboard Chang＇E1（CE-1） is to acquire global maps of elemental abundances and their distributions on the moon,since such maps will significantly improve our understanding of lunar formation and evolution.To derive the elemental maps and enable research on lunar formation and evolution,raw data that are received directly from the spacecraft must be converted into time series corrected gamma-ray spectra.The data correction procedures for the CE-1 GRS time series data are thoroughly described.The processing procedures to create the time series gamma-ray spectra described here include channel processing,optimal data selection,energy calibration,gain correction,dead time correction,geometric correction,orbit altitude normalization,eliminating unusable data and galactic cosmic ray correction.Finally,descriptions are also given on data measurement uncertainties,which will help the interested scientists to understand and estimate various uncertainties associated with the above data processing.

Spectrometer of hard X-ray imager payload onboard the ASO-S mission

A spaceborne hard X-ray spectrometer, composed of an array of 99 scintillation detectors and associated readout electronics, has been developed for the hard X-ray imager(HXI). The HXI is one of the three payloads onboard the advanced space-based solar observatory(ASO-S), which is scheduled to be launched in early 2022 as the first Chinese solar satellite. LaBr3 scintillators and photomultiplier tubes with a super bialkali cathode are used to achieve an energy resolution better than 20% at 30 keV.Further, a new multi-channel charge-sensitive readout application-specific integrated circuit guarantees high-frequency data acquisition with low power consumption. This paper presents a detailed design of the spectrometer for the engineering model of the HXI and discusses its noise and linearity performance.

Laser-Ionization TOF Mass Spectrometer Characterization of Benzene Destruction in Atmospheric Pressure Pulsed Discharge

Benzene is a major industrial air pollutant and can cause serious human health disorders. In this paper an investigation on benzene destruction, in an atmospheric-pressure fast-flow pulsed DC-discharge by means of laser ionization combined with time-of-flight （TOF） mass spectrometry, is reported. Most by-products including transient reactive species from the benzene discharge were characterized by molecular beam sampling combined with TOF mass spectrometry. It is showed that, with a gas mixture of 0.5% C6H6 in Ar, benzene can be effectively destroyed by discharge plasma. The intermediate species consisted of small fragments of CnHm （n=3-5, m = 1-11）, cycle-chain species of CnHm （n =6-9, m = 7-10） and polycyclic species CnHm （n ≥9, m = 8-12）. The alternation of mass peaks （intensity） with even/odd electrons was observed in the measured mass spectra. The results indicated that the alternation is mainly due to the different ionization potentials of the open shell and close shell species. Based on the examination of the features of the species＇ composition, the primary reaction pathways are proposed and discussed.

The first observation and data reduction of the Multi-wavelength Spectrometer on the New Vacuum Solar Telescope

The Multi-wavelength Spectrometer is a medium-dispersion（R^130 000）grating spectrometer installed on the New Vacuum Solar Telescope at the Fuxian Solar Observatory,Yunnan Astronomical Observatory,Chinese Academy of Sciences.It is designed to accurately observe the velocity and magnetic fields of the Sun.The present configuration of this spectrometer allows us to simultaneously observe three different solar spectral lines.This work is dedicated to showing the first observations carried out in both the Hαand Ca II 8542 A lines.We give a detailed description of the data reduction process,focusing on the retrieval of a flat field from the high-resolution spectral data.Two different methods are also performed and compared to eliminate the residual fringe in the reduced data.The real spectral resolution and instrumental profile are analyzed based on the final results,which indicate that this spectrometer presently satisfies the expected performance and it is ready for further scientific observations.

Study of Spectral Character of Alkali Metals Using Microwave Plasma Torch Simultaneous Spectrometer

A microwave plasma torch （MPT） simultaneous spectrometer was used to study the spectral character and the matrix effect on alkali metal ions in solution. The main parameters were optimized. The microwave forward power was 100 W. The argon flow rate that was used to sustain the Ar-MPT included the flow rate of carrier gas and the flow rate of support gas, which were 0. 8 and 1.0 L/min, respectively. The HC1 concentration in the solution was 0.02 mol/L. The observation height was 9. 0 ram. The detection limits of Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs were 0. 0003, 0. 0004, 0. 009, 0.07 and 2.4 mg/L, respectively, and the resuhs obtained by the Ar-MPT were compared with those obtained by argon inductively coupled plasma（Ar-ICP） and argon microwave induced plasma（Ar-MIP）. The interference effects of several matrix elements were also studied.