Measurement of the relative neutron sensitivity curve of a LaBr_(3)(Ce)scintillator based on the CSNS Back-n white neutron source

A scintillator detector consisting of a LaBr_(3)(Ce)(0.5%)scintillator,a photomultiplier tube(PMT),and an oscilloscope were used to study the neutron sensitivities of the LaBr_(3)(Ce)scintillator at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)Back-n white neutron source in the double-bunch and single-bunch operation modes,respectively.Under the two operational modes,the relative neutron sensitivity curves of the LaBr_(3)(Ce)scintillator in the energy regions of 1–20 MeV and 0.5–20 MeV were obtained for the first time.In the energy range of 1–20 MeV,the two curves were nearly identical.However the relative neutron sensitivity uncertainties of the double-bunch experiment were higher than those of the single-bunch experiment.The above results indicated that the single-bunch experiment's neutron sensitivity curve has a lower minimum measurable energy than the double-bunch experiment.Above the minimum measurable energy of the double-bunch experiment,there is little difference between the measured relative neutron sensitivity curves of the single-bunch and double-bunch experiments of the LaBr_(3)(Ce)scintillator and those of other scintillators with a similar neutron response signal intensity.

Measurement of the neutron-induced total cross sections of ^(nat)Pb from 0.3 eV to 20 MeV on the Back-n at CSNS

The neutron-induced total cross sections of natural lead have been measured in a wide energy range(0.3 eV-20 MeV)on the back-streaming white neutron beamline(Back-n)at the China Spallation Neutron Source.Neutron energy was determined by the neutron total cross-section spectrometer using the time-of-flight technique.A fast multi-cell fission chamber was used as the neutron detector,and a 10-mm-thick high-purity natural lead sample was employed for the neutron transmission measurements.The on-beam background was determined using Co,In,Ag,and Cd filters.The excitation function of ^(nat)Pb(n,tot)reaction below 20 MeV was calculated using the TALYS-1.96 nuclear-reaction modeling program.The present results were compared with previous results,the evaluated data available in the five major evaluated nuclear data libraries(i.e.,ENDF/B-VIII.0,JEFF-3.3,JENDL-5,CENDL-3.2,and BROND-3.1),and the theoretical calculation curve.Good agreement was found between the new results and those of previous experiments and with the theoretical curves in the corresponding region.This measurement obtained the neutron total cross section of natural lead with good accuracy over a wide energy range and added experimental data in the resonance energy range.This provides more reliable experimental data for nuclear engineering design and nuclear data evaluation of lead.

Silicon photomultiplier based scintillator thermal neutron detector for China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)

The energy-resolved neutron imaging spectrometer(ERNI)will be installed in 2022 according to the spectrometer construction plan of the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS).The instrument requires neutron detectors with the coverage area of approximately 4 m^(2)in 5°-170°neutron diffraction angle.The neutron detection efficiency needs to be better than 40%at 1 A neutron wavelength.The spatial resolution should be better than 3 mm×50 mm in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively.We develop a one-dimensional scintillator neutron detector which is composed of the^(6)Li F/Zn S(Ag)scintillation screens,the wavelength-shifting fiber(WLSF)array,the silicon photomultipliers(Si PMs),and the self-designed application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC)readout electronics.The pixel size of the detector is designed as 3 mm×50 mm,and the neutron-sensitive area is 50 mm×200 mm.The performance of the detector prototype is measured using neutron beam 20#of the CSNS.The maximum counting rate of 247 k Hz,and the detection efficiency of63%at 1.59 A are obtained.The test results show that the performance of the detector fulfills the physical requirements of the ERNI under construction at the CSNS.

Measurement of the ^(232)Th(n,f)cross section in the 1-200 MeV range at the CSNS Back-n

The ^(232)Th(n,f)cross section is very important in basic nuclear physics and applications based on the Th/U fuel cycle.Using the time-of-flight method and a multi-cell fast-fission ionization chamber,a novel measurement of the^(232)Th(n,f)cross sec-tion relative to^(235)U in the 1–200 MeV range was performed at the China Spallation Neutron Source Back-n white neutron source(Back-n).The fission event-neutron energy spectra of^(232)Th and^(235)U fission cells were measured in the single-bunch mode.Corrected 232Th/235U fission cross-sectional ratios were obtained,and the measurement uncertainties were 2.5–3.7%for energies in the 2–20 MeV range and 3.6–6.2%for energies in the 20–200 MeV range.The^(232)Th(n,f)cross section was obtained by introducing the standard cross section of^(235)U(n,f).The results were compared with those of previous theoreti-cal calculations,measurements,and evaluations.The measured 232Th fission cross section agreed with the main evaluation results in terms of the experimental uncertainty,and 232Th fission resonances were observed in the 1–3 MeV range.The present results provide^(232)Th(n,f)cross-sectional data for the evaluation and design of Th/U cycle nuclear systems.

Analysis of displacement damage effects on the charge-coupled device induced by neutrons at Back-n in the China Spallation Neutron Source

Displacement damage effects on the charge-coupled device(CCD)induced by neutrons at the back-streaming white neutron source(Back-n)in the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)are analyzed according to an online irradiation experiment.The hot pixels,random telegraph signal(RTS),mean dark signal,dark current and dark signal non-uniformity(DSNU)induced by Back-n are presented.The dark current is calculated according to the mean dark signal at various integration times.The single-particle displacement damage and transient response are also observed based on the online measurement data.The trends of hot pixels,mean dark signal,DSNU and RTS degradation are related to the integration time and irradiation fluence.The mean dark signal,dark current and DSNU2 are nearly linear with neutron irradiation fluence when nearly all the pixels do not reach saturation.In addition,the mechanisms of the displacement damage effects on the CCD are demonstrated by combining the experimental results and technology computer-aided design(TCAD)simulation.Radiation-induced traps in the space charge region of the CCD will act as generation/recombination centers of electron-hole pairs,leading to an increase in the dark signal.

Measurement of the neutron total cross section of^(9)Be at the Back-n white neutron source of CSNS

The neutron total cross section data of^(9)Be are essential in the nuclear structure model research of light nuclei and nuclear power installations.The neutron total cross section of^(9)Be in the 0.3 eV−120 MeV energy region has been measured using time-of-flight and transmission methods with the Neutron Total Cross Sectional Spectrometer(NTOX)based on the multi-cell fast fission chamber at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)-Back-n white neutron source(Back-n).The fission count-neutron energy distributions of ^(235)U and ^(238)U without samples and with Be samples with three thicknesses were measured in the double-bunch operation mode for a beam power of 100 kW.The Bayesian method was used to eliminate the influence of the double-bunch problem on neutron measurement in the energy region above 10 keV.The neutron total cross section of^(9)Be results was consistent with ENDF/B-VIII.0 evaluation library data in the 0.3 eV−20 MeV energy region.In the energy ranges of 0.3 eV to 10 keV and 0.01 to 20 MeV,the deviations between our results and the evaluation results of ENDF/B-VIII.0 were within 2.5%and 15%,respectively.In the resonance energy region,the measured resonance energies in our experiment were 0.63,0.82,and 2.8 MeV,respectively.The results showed that the total cross section uncertainties of three Be samples were within 2.2%in the energy region below 1 MeV.The total cross section uncertainty of 30 mm Be from ^(235)U was the smallest and less than 5%in the energy region of 0.3 eV−120 MeV.The results of this experiment can provide technical support for further data analysis and related nuclear data evaluation.

CSNS 加速器一键开关机程序设计和实现

中国散裂中子源加速器上有几百套电源和高频设备。每次开关机过程都要通过操作二十多个控制界面来完成这几百台设备的开关机流程,过程繁琐,耗时较多,容易出错且很难发现。为了简化开关机流程和避免人为错误发生,开发了一套一键开关机程序。该程序将分散于二十多个界面的所有硬件设备开关机操作集成到一个界面中,同时将每个硬件开关机流程抽象为单独线程,界面上一键操作,使用多线程并发完成所有设备的开关机操作。该程序实现了运行模式状态的一键存储和恢复,能够一键完成整个加速器的开关机流程,将原来耗时40 min的开关机流程压缩到约2 min完成,提升了操作效率,很好地满足了中国散裂中子源加速器运行需求。该程序具有一定的通用性,可以在其它装置推广应用。

Measurement of the neutron total cross section of carbon at the Back-n white neutron beam of CSNS

To verify the performance of the neutron total cross-sectional spectrometer, the neutron total cross section of carbon is initially measured in the energy range of 1 eV to 20 MeV using the time-of-flight method. The measurement is performed at the Back-n white neutron source with a 76-m time-of-flight path using the China Spallation Neutron Source. A multilayer fast fission chamber with 235U and 238U is employed as the neutron detector. The diameter and thickness of the natural graphite sample are 70 mm and 40 mm, respectively. Signal waveforms are collected using a data acquisition system. Off-line data processing was used to obtain the neutron time-of-flight spectra and transmissions. The uncertainty of the counting statistics is generally approximately 3% for each bin in the energy range of 1–20 MeV. It is determined that the results for the neutron total cross section of carbon obtained using ^235U cells are in good agreement with the results obtained using 238U cells within limits of statistical uncertainty. Moreover, the measured total cross sections show good agreement with the broadening evaluated data.

Measurements of the ^(107)Ag neutron capture cross sections with pulse height weighting technique at the CSNS Back-n facility

Silver indium cadmium(Ag–In–Cd) control rod is widely used in pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants,and it is continuously consumed in a high neutron flux environment. The mass ratio of ^(107)Ag in the Ag–In–Cd control rod is 41.44%. To accurately calculate the consumption value of the control rod, a reliable neutron reaction cross section of the ^(107)Ag is required. Meanwhile,^(107)Ag is also an important weak r nucleus. Thus, the cross sections for neutron induced interactions with ^(107)Ag are very important both in nuclear energy and nuclear astrophysics. The(n, γ) cross section of ^(107)Ag has been measured in the energy range of 1–60 eV using a back streaming white neutron beam line at China spallation neutron source. The resonance parameters are extracted by an R-matrix code. All the cross section of ^(107)Ag and resonance parameters are given in this paper as datasets. The datasets are openly available at http://www.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.j00113.00010.

New experimental measurement of^(nat)Se(n,γ)cross section between 1 eV to 1 keV at the CSNS Back-n facility

The^(74)Se is one of 35 p-nuclei,and^(82)Se is a r-process only nucleus,and their(n,γ)cross sections are vital input parameters for nuclear astrophysics reaction network calculations.The neutron capture cross section in the resonance range of isotopes and even natural selenium samples has not been measured.Promptγ-rays originating from neutron-induced capture events were detected by four C_(6)D_(6) liquid scintillator detectors at the Back-n facility of China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS).The pulse height weighting technique(PHWT)was used to analyze the data in the 1 e V to 100 ke V region.The deduced neutron capture cross section was compared with ENDF/B-VIII.0,JEFF-3.2,and JENDL-4.0,and some differences were found.Resonance parameters were extracted by the R-matrix code SAMMY in the 1 e V-1 ke V region.All the cross sections ofnatSe and resonance parameters are given in the datasets.The datasets are openly available at http://www.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.j00113.00019.

Measurement of ^(232)Th(n,γ)cross section at the CSNS Back-n facility in the unresolved resonance region from 4 keV to 100 keV

The neutron capture cross section of ^(232)Th was measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility Back-n of China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)for the first time.The measurement was performed with 4 hydrogen-free deuterated benzene C6D6 liquid scintillation detectors,in the ES#2 experiment station on the beam line,at a distance of about 76 m from the neutron-production assembly.The total energy detection principle in combination with the pulse height weighting technique(PHWT)was applied to analyze the measured data.Results of the ^(232)Th(n,γ)reaction cross section in the unresolved resonance region from 4 keV to 100 keV were obtained,which shows a good agreement with the existing experimental data from EXFOR,as well as with the evaluated data from the ENDF/B-VIII.0 and CENDL-3.1.In addition,the excitation function of ^(232)Th(n,γ)^(233)Th reaction in the unresolved resonance region was theoretically calculated by using the code TALYS-1.95.By fitting the experimental cross section and theoretical data,the average parameters in the unresolved resonance region were extracted.

CSNS反角白光中子实验终端本底及中子准直系统模拟计算

散裂中子源可产生白光中子,具有中子注量率高、热功率小、可脉冲化等优点,其应用十分广泛。其中一个重要的应用是核数据测量。目前,中国缺少白光中子源,因此一直没有开展基于白光中子源的核数据测量工作。目前在建的中国散裂中子源(China Spallation Neutron Source,CSNS)的反角中子束线,在距散裂靶80 m处的中子强度约为9.25×106n·cm-2·s-1,时间分辨率为0.3%-0.9%,能够较好地用于核数据测量工作。本文介绍了该白光中子束线及实验终端的概况,并重点介绍该实验终端本底计算结果、中子准直系统和束斑参数。通过计算结果得出,CSNS反角白光中子源物理终端具有较低的实验本底和较好的中子束斑,可以开展较高精度的核数据测量工作。

基于嵌入式IOC的CSNS真空控制系统样机研制

在EPICS软件框架下搭建了一套中国散裂中子源(CSNS)真空控制系统样机。使用MOXA嵌入式工控机运行嵌入式Linux系统,并建立相应的EPICS系统,实现EPICS与真空设备(真空计和离子泵电源控制器)的接口。真空连锁保护系统则用横河PLC实现,并在该PLC的嵌入式Linux控制器模块上建立EPICS系统,使PLC中的数据直接纳入EPICS系统中。通过测试表明,该样机实时性较高且稳定可靠。

CSNS微小角中子散射谱仪运动控制系统样机

微小角中子散射(Very Small Angle Neutron Scattering,VSANS)谱仪是结构校准的有力工具。为了保证中国散裂中子源(China Spallation Neutron Source,CSNS)VSANS谱仪的运动部件满足重复定位精度优于±2μm的要求,设计了基于实验物理及工业控制系统(Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System,EPICS)软件架构的运动控制系统方案,并搭建了相应的运动控制系统样机。该样机使用步进电机、绝对式光栅和Beckhoff嵌入式控制器,实现了对平移台位置的全闭环控制。测试结果表明:该样机的重复定位精度优于±2μm,且具有稳定可靠性高的特点,很好地满足了CSNS VSANS谱仪的需要。

用于CSNS反角白光中子能谱及注量率测量的快裂变室

即将建成的中国散裂中子源(China Spallation Neutron Source,CSNS)反角白光中子束线可为核数据测量提供高注量率的脉冲白光中子束流,填补我国核数据测量用白光中子源的空白,提高我国核数据测量水平,满足核能、核技术及基础核物理研究对核数据的需求。该束线建成后,其中子能谱及注量率的精确测量将是开展其它物理实验的基础,快裂变电离室因其独特优点被选为中子能谱和注量率测量探测器。通过实验研究了快裂变电离室的粒子分辨性能、时间分辨性能;确定阴、阳极的合理间距为10 mm,据此测得电离室的时间分辨约15 ns;利用235U样品量计算的探测效率与利用伴随粒子法给出的探测效率在不确定度范围内符合,因此可以标定快裂变室的探测效率。通过这些工作,完成了满足反角白光中子束能谱及注量率测量需求的快裂变室的物理设计。

CSNS中子带宽限制斩波器样机控制系统的设计与实现

中子带宽限制斩波器是中国散裂中子源(CSNS)飞行时间型中子散射谱仪中用于选择特定波段范围中子的装置,其控制系统要求能够实现斩波器相位信号与加速器定时信号同步并完成对斩波器运行状态监控的功能。本文针对控制指标的要求,阐述了控制系统的结构、控制原理及软件设计方案,并对系统控制精度和稳定性进行了分析。

CSNS小角散射谱仪数据获取软件设计

为满足中国散裂中子源小角散射谱仪数据获取的需求,本文在Linux系统下采用C++及Qt、MySQL等开源技术研制了小角散射谱仪的数据获取系统软件。该软件实现了电子学配置、运行控制、数据网络读出、在线数据处理和存储、运行状态监测和错误报警等数据获取软件基本功能,以及用户操作界面、在线数据库和电荷通道波形重建等附加功能。本文介绍该软件的设计与实现,包括硬件架构与软件部署,并给出了性能及稳定性的测试结果。

用于CSNS反角白光中子源的双屏栅电离室设计及性能研究

为测量中国散裂中子源(China Spallation Neutron Source,CSNS)反角白光中子源150 keV以下能区飞行时间法中子能谱,研制基于^(10)B(n,α)7Li和6Li(n,t)α核反应的双屏栅电离室,采用薄窗和薄底衬的结构设计。通过Garfield++、SRIM和Simcenter Magnet Electric程序对屏栅电离室的工作气体、极间距和电场分布等工作参数进行模拟设计,并采用α源及CF_(4)、P10、90%Ar-10%CO_(2)三种气体对电离室进行性能参数测试。结果表明,选定电子漂移速度快、扩散系数小,以及阻止本领大的CF_(4)作为CSNS/Back-n束上测试工作气体,阴极-栅极和栅极-阳极间距分别为20 mm和5 mm。屏栅电离室收集区∅74 mm范围内是电场均匀区,场强的相对偏差≤0.03%;性能测试结果表明,工作气体为CF_(4)时,电离室对^(239)Pu/^(241)Am/^(244)Cm混合α面源具有很好的能量分辨,最佳能量分辨率为2.4%@5.48 MeV。对比平板型电离室和硅微条探测器的测量结果,验证了本工作研制的屏栅型电离室的能量分辨优势。

基于信号幅度的^(3)He管中子探测器刻度算法优化研究

本研究针对中国散裂中子源下的高压中子衍射谱仪中核心组件——位置灵敏型^(3)He管中子探测器的刻度问题进行了深入探究。通过实验验证和理论分析,揭示了传统刻度方法中未考虑到的中子信号幅度对刻度参数的影响,以及由此产生的位置分布畸变和空间分辨率降低的问题。为解决这些问题,本研究提出了一种改进的刻度算法,该算法能够有效地考虑中子信号幅度的变化,从而显著改善了探测器系统的空间分辨能力。经过实验结果分析显示,新的刻度算法不仅消除了位置分布的拖尾现象,而且提高了不同位置处的空间分辨率,与理论预期相符。本研究的成果为高压中子衍射谱仪在极端条件下的应用提供了重要的技术支持,并为进一步优化中子探测器的刻度方法和提高中子衍射技术的应用精度奠定了基础。

Operation of the CSNS Penning surface H^- ion source

The accelerator complex of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) consists of a H- linear accelerator (linac) and a rapid cycling synchrotron (RCS). The linac contains a Penning surface H- ion source. The designed energy and the beam current of the source are 50 keV and 20 mA respectively, with a normalized root mean square (norm. rms.) emittance of 0.2π mm mrad. The manufactures and tests of the discharge chamber are in great progress. The construction of H- ion source test stand has been completed, and the operation of the source is also in progress. Stable H- ion beams with energy of 50 keV and current up to 50 mA are attained. Emittance measurement for the H- beam is being prepared.