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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

The SAND detector at the DUNE near site

DUNE is a next-generation long baseline experiment for neutrino oscillation physics. The NearDetector complex aims at constraining the systematic uncertainties to ensure high precisionmeasurements of neutrino oscillation parameters. The SAND apparatus is one of the threecomponents of the Near Detector complex permanently located on-axis to monitor the neutrinobeam stability, measure its flux and perform precise neutrino physics. SAND exploits a 0.6 Tsuperconducting magnet coupled with an electromagnetic calorimeter made of lead scintillating fibers. The inner magnetized volume is provided with a novel LAr detector and a low-density Straw Tube Target tracker. In this article the major components of the SAND apparatus and their role in the measurements of (anti)neutrinos interactions are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

(Paper) TRIPWIRE: Multi-modal Distributed Sensing For Repository Verification

Underground geological repositories for storing used nuclear fuel are being planned and developed around the world. Research is being performed to understand technical aspects of sealing entombed materials and underground repositories to ensure the radiological and nuclear materials remain contained. To support safeguards verification for these facilities research at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is underway to develop and demonstrate a multi-modal sensor system, TRIPWIRE, for containment verification in inaccessible radiological and nuclear waste repositories. The TRIPWIRE system will continuously monitor ionizing radiation and electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of emplaced nuclear materials buried in a repository, reporting on disturbances with a real-time alarm control station. The system will use long-length scintillating fiber bundles (SFBs) to perform area radiation monitoring; these will be coupled to kilometer-scale multimodal optical communication fibers – all light sensors and electronic components used with this system will be located above ground. Electromagnetic fields, and changes in local dielectric conditions caused by intrusion and soil movement, will be monitored using commercial grade, ported "leaky" coaxial cables (PCCs), with control electronics also located above ground. Tamper-indicating self-diagnostic assessments will be done using optical and electronic time domain reflectometry in the SFBs and PCCs, respectively. The result will be a long, kilometer-scale multi-modal SFB-PCC system. Simulation and modeling are being used to inform the work and a demonstration of the system's utility is planned at a nuclear storage facility in the future.

98 - NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL↗
DOE OSTI2022

Progress of Tripwire: Multi-modal Distributed Sensing for Repository Verification

This project is developing and demonstrating a multi-modal sensor system, TRIPWIRE, for containment verification in inaccessible radiological and nuclear waste repositories. The TRIPWIRE system will continuously monitor ionizing radiation and electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of emplaced nuclear materials buried in a repository, reporting on disturbances with a real-time alarm control station. The system will use long-length scintillating fiber bundles (SFBs) to perform area radiation monitoring; these will be coupled to kilometer-scale multimodal optical communication fibers – all light sensors and electronic components used with this system will be located above ground. Electromagnetic fields, and changes in local dielectric conditions caused by intrusion and soil movement, will be monitored using commercial grade, ported "leaky" coaxial cables (PCCs), with control electronics also located above ground. This paper documents the results of the simulations and modeling efforts that have helped identify the optimal placement of the SFBs. Additionally, the paper includes the current progress on the multi-modal SFB-PCC system, including the fabrication of long-length (>3-m) fibers and their coupling to optical fibers.

98 - NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL↗
DOE OSTI2025

Design and Construction of a High-Resolution Hodoscope for the GlueX Experiment with High-Statistics Analysis of the p0, ¿, and ¿1 Photoproduction Cross Sections from the RadPhi Experiment

Differential cross sections for forward-angle photoproduction of p0, ¿, and ¿ 1 pseudoscalar mesons were measured using data from the RadPhi experiment conducted in Hall B at Jef ferson Lab. RadPhi utilized a tagged bremsstrahlung photon beam incident on a stationary 9Be target, with a detector system configured to trigger on a recoil proton in coincidence with multiple neutral showers in the calorimeter. Events were reconstructed and subjected to kinematic constraints, with background suppressed via sideband subtraction guided by Monte Carlo modeling of background contributions. Cross sections were extracted over the photon energy range 4.4– 5.4 GeV and binned in invariant momentum transfer t, providing measurements from one of the first high-statistics experiments of forward ¿ and ¿1 pro duction from a nuclear target at these energies. Acceptance corrections were applied using a detailed GEANT-based simulation of the detector geometry and response. The resulting cross sections are consistent with 2020 CLAS results, when scaled by the number of protons in beryllium, and show broad agreement with other data and theoretical models. In parallel, a high-resolution photon tagger detector, the Tagger Microscope (TAGM), was designed, constructed, and commissioned for the GlueX experiment in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. The TAGM was developed to provide high-rate tagging capability in the coherent bremsstrahlung peak by detecting post-bremsstrahlung electrons across a one GeV range along the focal plane of the tagging spectrometer. The detector consists of a 5ˆ102 array of 2ˆ2 mm2 square BCF-20 plastic scintillating fibers thermally fused to BCF-98 light guide fibers optically coupled to silicon photomultipliers. These fibers are mounted in a precision machined framework enabling fine positional adjustments to maintain precise alignment with post-bremsstrahlung electron trajectories, while ensuring mechanical rigidity, thermal stability, optical isolation, minimal inactive area, and radiation shielding for electronics. The construction effort involved extensive testing of fiber quality, light transmission, thermal fusing, radiation hardness, and defect analysis using SEM and EDX techniques. Following its installation and commissioning, the TAGM became a critical component of the GlueX beamline, enabling high-rate tagging essential for studies of hybrid mesons and gluonic ex citations.

McIntyre, James [Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of light collection from highly scattering media using wavelength-shifting fibers

Opaque scintillators are designed to have a short scattering length such that scintillation photons are probabilistically confined to a small region of space about their origin. The benefit of this feature is that information on the interaction event topology can be recorded with greater fidelity than in traditional highly transparent media with sensors at large distances from the light production region. Opaque scintillator detectors rely on wavelength-shifting fibers to extract the scintillation light; however, the efficiency of light collection has not yet been directly measured in experiment. We measured the efficiency of light collection as a function of the optical parameters of an opaque liquid and the distance from the origin of the light to the fiber. We use the experimental data to validate a Monte Carlo model of light transport and collection and discuss a simple diffusion model that reproduces the results of Monte Carlo simulation with high fidelity. Furthermore, this combination of validated models has the potential for use in predictions of performance in various designs of future opaque scintillator detectors such as LiquidO.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optically multiplexed neutron time-of-flight technique for inertial confinement fusion

Neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detectors are crucial in diagnosing the performance of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, which implode targets of deuterium–tritium fuel to achieve thermonuclear conditions. These detectors utilize the fusion neutron energy spectrum to extract key measurements, including the hotspot ion temperature and fuel areal density. Previous work [Danly et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 94, 043502 (2023)] has demonstrated adding 1D spatial resolution to an nTOF-like detector using a neutron aperture and streak camera to measure the ion temperature profile of an ICF implosion. By contrast, the study presented herein explores modifying the 1D detector to use a fast photomultiplier tube (PMT) to validate the design of a 2D spatially resolved instrument based on reconstruction from 1D profiles. The modification would collect time-of-flight traces from separate scintillators in an imaging array with one PMT using optical fibers of varying lengths to time-multiplex the signals. This technique has been demonstrated in ride-along experiments on the OMEGA laser with 20 fiber-coupled scintillator channels connected to a Photek PMT210. Results provide constraints on the fiber lengths and PMT gating requirements to promote pulse fidelity throughout all channels. Calibration of the detector to fixed nTOFs can provide a preliminary estimate of the instrument response function (IRF), although measurement of the IRF is currently under way. These results suggest that nTOF signals can potentially be time-multiplexed with fibers so long as the design is strategic to mitigate signal-to-noise reduction, modal dispersion, and charge build-up in the PMT, which has implications beyond ion temperature imaging.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Estimation of 14 MeV neutron rate from triton burn-up in future W7-X deuterium plasma campaigns

Fast ion confinement is of major importance for the ignition of a burning fusion plasma. In future deuterium plasma campaigns of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, W7-X, the amount of triton burn-up is one possible measure for fast ion confinement. A well-established technique to observe triton burn-up is the 14 MeV neutron rate. In this paper, it is estimated whether an existing scintillating fibre neutron detector is also suited to measure triton burn-up in W7-X with sufficient accuracy. In this work, an estimation is presented, which can be applied to any tokamak or stellarator design and is one-dimensional in the minor radius. The inputs are profiles of density, temperature, and differential volume element as well as the triton slowing-down time. The estimation calculates the thermal deuteron fusion rate and the associated deuteron-triton fusion rate; thus, the triton burn-up generated 14 MeV neutron rate. It neither takes triton diffusion nor explicit losses into account. This thermally generated fusion rate is compared to the neutral beam injection heating induced beam-plasma fusion rate.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

TRIPWIRE - Radiation and Electromagnetic Laboratory Work Report

This report summarizes the research outcomes for the work performed in fiscal year 2020. The report is divided into two main sections addressing the radiation and electromagnetic sensing components. Both sections present an introduction with theory to lay the foundation of how the systems work. The report is the key deliverable for Task 1: Radiation and Electromagnetic Detector Development - Laboratory Work. This task involves all work related to initial laboratory research associated with the radiation and electromagnetic detector development to reach TRL-3.

73 - NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Detection of scintillation light in noble gases with wavelength-shifting optical fibers

Wavelength-shifting (WLS) techniques enable particle detectors based on noble gases, whose scintillation light is predominantly emitted in the vacuum-ultraviolet. We investigate WLS fibers coated with tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB) for scintillation light detection in gaseous xenon and argon at pressures up to 8.5 bar, motivated by future high-pressure xenon time-projection chambers of the NEXT program. Two detector configurations are studied: an elongated high-pressure vessel with four PTFE panels equipped with WLS fibers read by temperature-stabilized SiPMs, and a compact box-shaped detector operated at 1 bar Xe with WLS fibers read out by PMTs. Both operate with continuous gas purification. The detector response is characterized using cosmic muons and alpha particles from a $^{241}$Am source. With the SiPM setup, we measure a light collection efficiency (LCE) of ${1.18 \pm 0.01~\mathrm{(sta.)}~^{+0.07}_{-0.09}~\mathrm{(sys.)}~\%}$ for xenon and ${1.07 \pm 0.01~\mathrm{(sta.)}~^{+0.06}_{-0.08}~\mathrm{(sys.)}~\%}$ for argon. With PMT readout, we measure a LCE of ${0.45 \pm 0.01~\mathrm{(sta.)} \pm 0.05~\mathrm{(sys.)}~\%}$ in xenon, in agreement with the SiPM result once photon detection efficiency is accounted for. Average scintillation waveforms in xenon and argon are studied to assess the time structure of the emitted light. Cosmic-muon measurements yield a mean energy required to produce a scintillation photon $45\pm7~\mathrm{(sta.)}~^{+4}_{-5}~\mathrm{(sys.)}~\mathrm{eV}$ at 1.5 bar, in agreement with the literature. The results demonstrate that TPB-coated WLS fiber systems can reliably detect scintillation light in high-pressure gaseous noble detectors, with a LCE representing an upper limit for realistic large-scale TPCs, where additional photon losses from materials and fiber attenuation are expected.

Soleti, S. R. [Donostia Intl. Phys. Ctr., San Seba↗
DOE OSTI2022

Coated fiber optic chemical and radiation sensors

Distributed fiber optic chemical and radiation sensors formed by coating the fibers with certain types of response materials are provided. For distributed chemical sensors, the coatings are reactive with the targets; the heat absorbed or released during a reaction will cause a local temperature change on the fiber. For distributed radiation sensors, coating a fiber with a scintillator enhances sensitivity toward thermal neutrons, for example, by injecting light into the fiber. The luminescent components in these materials are taken from conjugated polymeric and oligomeric dyes, metal organic frameworks with sorbed dyes, and two-photon-absorbing semiconductors. The compositions may exhibit strong gamma rejection. Other scintillators combining luminescent materials with neutron converters are available. With a multiple-layer coating, it may be possible to identify the presence of both neutrons and gamma rays, for example. Coatings may be applied during manufacture or in the field.

Lamberti, Vincent E.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scintillation light detection performance for the DUNE ND-LAr 2 × 2 modules

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be using a liquid argon time projection chamber (LAr TPC) with optically separated modules in the Near Detector (ND) complex. A prototype experiment, DUNE ND-LAr 2 × 2, is composed of four test modules. They detect ionization charge through a pixel-based readout and scintillation light through fibers in light collection modules and light traps called ArCLights. The light detection performance for two modules of DUNE ND-LAr 2 × 2 that took cosmic ray data at the University of Bern is shown. We present further the role of the 2 × 2 prototype in DUNE and how it is used to demonstrate the reconstruction capabilities of its light detectors in terms of energy thresholds and timing resolution.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Method and apparatus for radiation detection based on time-of-flight within optical fibers

A radiation detection system using time of flight (TOF) information within multiple optical fiber complexes coupled with a scintillating material at intersections of repeatedly crossing over shape. Light detectors are placed at the ends of each fiber to detect scintillation events. A timing processor is collecting light detector signal to compute TOF difference and estimate the location and strength of radioactivity. The system is scalable in one dimension, capable of being shaped or curved, and customizable in terms of special resolution and sensitivity. The system is suitable for long range and coarse radiation detection.

Lee, Seung Jae↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quality assurance test of silicon photomultipliers and electronic boards for STAR event plane detector

The event plane detector (EPD), installed in the Solenoid Tracker at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory is a plastic scintillator-based device that measures the reaction centrality and event plane in the forward region of the relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We used silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays to detect the photons produced in the scintillator via the fiber connection. Signals from the SiPM arrays were amplified by the front-end electronic (FEE) board, and sent to the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) boards for further processing via the receiver (RX) board. The full EPD system consisted of 24 super-sectors (SSs); each SS was equipped with two SiPM boards, two FEE boards and two RX boards, and they corresponded to 744 readout channels. All these boards were mass produced at the University of Science and Technology of China, with a dedicated quality assurance (QA) procedures applied to identify any problems before deployment. This article describes the details of the QA method and the related test system. As a result, the QA test results are presented along with the discussions.

EPD↗
DOE OSTI2025

Design and implementation of the cosmic ray tagger system for the ICARUS detector at FNAL

The ICARUS-T600 Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber is operating at Fermilab at shallow depth and thus exposed to a high flux of cosmic rays that can fake neutrino interactions. A cosmic ray tagging (CRT) system (∼ 1100 m 2 ), surrounding the cryostat with two layers of fiber embedded plastic scintillators, was developed to mitigate the cosmic ray induced background. Using nanosecond-level timing information, the CRT can distinguish incoming cosmic rays from outgoing particles from neutrino interactions in the TPC. In this paper an overview of the CRT system, its installation and commissioning at Fermilab, and its performance are discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Understanding the temperature and humidity dependence of the SiPM characteristics

A miniature version of the ICAL experiment at the India-based Neutrino Observatory, the mini-ICALis in operation at the IICHEP, Madurai. The commissioning work of a Cosmic Muon Veto detector (CMVD)on top of the mini-ICAL is continued using extruded plastic scintillators with embeddedWLS fibers and the SiPM as a photo-transducer. The CMVD is being built to study thefeasibility of a cosmic muon veto for a shallow-depth neutrino experiment. The SiPM is calibratedusing an ultrafast LED driver andthe same calibration techniques will be used during the data taking period with a simplified LED in thesame readout PCB. An experimental setup wasdesigned to characterise the SiPMs in a temperature controlled environment. The readout electronicsinvolves trans-impedance amplifiers and a voltage followers of combined gain 1.24 mV/$\mu$A and adigital storage oscilloscope for the data collection with a minimal distortion of SiPM signal.Various characteristics of the Hamamatsu SiPM (S13360-2050VE), e.g. signal shape, optically correlatedand uncorrelated noise, recovery time etc were studied as a function of $V_{ov}$, number of photoelectrons,the ambient temperature and the humidity. This paper will cover the details of those results.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scintillation light detection performance for the DUNE ND-LAr 2 × 2 modules

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be using a liquid argon time projection chamber (LAr TPC) with optically separated modules in the Near Detector (ND) complex. A prototype experiment, DUNE ND-LAr 2 × 2, is composed of four test modules. They detect ionization charge through a pixel-based readout and scintillation light through fibers in light collection modules and light traps called ArCLights. The light detection performance for two modules of DUNE ND-LAr 2 × 2 that took cosmic ray data at the University of Bern is shown. We present further the role of the 2 × 2 prototype in DUNE and how it is used to demonstrate the reconstruction capabilities of its light detectors in terms of energy thresholds and timing resolution.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗