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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Commissioning a time-gated camera for fast neutron beamline spatial-energy characterization at LANSCE-WNR spallation source

An energy-resolved fast neutron beam imaging diagnostic has been successfully commissioned at the Weapons Neutron Research (WNR) spallation source within the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) facility. This diagnostic replaces the existing analog phosphor image plates, which integrate across all neutron energies, as well as other particles, with a near-real-time energy-sensitive imaging capability. The system uses a fast plastic scintillator coupled with an intensified CCD camera. Specifically, the Teledyne Pi-MAX4 camera is coupled with either a 4 mm thick Eljen (EJ) 204 or 228 plastic scintillator. These scintillators are most sensitive to the fast neutrons (0.8-800 MeV) directly from the spallation source rather than low energy background radiation. Experimentally, these plastic scintillators were shown to have sufficiently fast decay to differentiate the bright gamma flash from the spallation neutrons. The spatial resolution is dominated by neutron beam divergence, with minimal additional contributions from scatter and light divergence. The system successfully resolved changes in neutron beam characteristics caused by intentional proton steering variations. Additionally, simulations of scintillator light yield as a function of thickness conducted using PHITS (with Scinful-QMD package) found that increasing scintillator thickness from 4 mm to 6 or 8 mm could potentially increase brightness ~ 3x. This may be explored if there is a need to reduce image acquisition time from several minutes to under one minute.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Large scale SiPM testing for the Cosmic Muon Veto detector

A Cosmic Muon Veto (CMV) detector using extruded plastic scintillators is being built around the mini-Iron Calorimeter (mini-ICAL) detector at the transit campus of the India based Neutrino Observatory, Madurai. The extruded plastic scintillators will be embedded with wavelength shifting (WLS) fibres to absorb scintillating photons and propgate the re-emitted photons to the silicon-photomultipliers for the electronic signals. The CMV detector will require 760 extruded plastic scintillators to shield the mini-ICAL detector, and will require 3040 SiPMs for the readout. The design goal for the cosmic muon veto efficiency of the CMV is $>$99.99\% and fake veto rate less than 10$^{-5}$. Hence, every SiPM used in the detector needs to be characterised to satisfy the design goal of the CMV. For this, a large-scale testing system was developed, using an LED driver, to measure the gain and noise rate of each SiPM, and thus determine it's breakdown voltage ($V_{br}$) and optimum operating overvoltage ($V_{ov}$).

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Performance studies of the Mu2e cosmic ray veto detector

The cosmic ray veto (CRV) detector of the Mu2e experiment consists of four layers of plastic scintillation counters that surround the detector solenoid. These counters are embedded with wavelength-shifting fibers and are read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The performance of a subset of the CRV counters was studied in a cosmic-ray test stand. Here, using data taken over a two-year period, we report the single-layer muon detection efficiency and the rate at which the light yield degrades due to the aging of the plastic scintillation counters.

Aging↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluation of a positron-emission-tomography-based SiPM readout for compact segmented neutron imagers

Gamma-ray emission from special nuclear material (SNM) is relatively easy to shield from detection using modest amounts of high-Z material. In contrast, fast-neutrons are much more penetrating and can escape relatively thick high-Z shielding without losing significant energy. Furthermore, fast neutrons provide a clear and unambiguous signature of the presence of SNM with few competing natural background sources. The challenge of detecting fast neutrons is twofold. First, the neutron flux from SNM are only a fraction of the corresponding gamma-ray flux. Second, fast neutrons can be difficult to differentiate from gamma rays. The ability to discriminate gamma rays from neutrons, combined with a neutron imaging capability, can in some situations enable the localization of SNM neutron sources distinct from background. With the developments of pulse-shape-sensitive plastic scintillators that offer excellent gamma-ray/neutron discrimination, and arrays of silicon photomultipliers combined with highly scalable and fast positron-emission-tomography (PET) multi-channel readout systems, field-deployable neutron imagers suitable for SNM detection might now be within reach. In this paper, we present a characterization of the performance of a recently available commercial PET-scanner readout, including its sensitivity to pulse-shape differences between fast neutrons and gamma rays, energy and timing resolution. Here, we find that, while the pulse-shape discrimination is achievable with stilbene, further improvement of the readout is required to achieve it with the PSD-capable available plastic scintillators.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

ADRIANO2 Calorimeter performance from 2022 Prototypes

A novel high-granularity dual-readout calorimetric technique was developed as part of the T1604 collaboration research program. The building block of ADRIANO2 Calorimeter consists of a pair of optically isolated, small sized tiles made of scintillating plastic and lead glass. The two components of the dual-readout energy compensation technique. Furthermore,Cˇerenkovlightfromtheleadglassareexploitedtoforhighresolutiontimingmeasurements,whilehigh granularity from scintillating plastic can be used to probe the spatial component of the particle shower. This setup works for excellent energy resolution and particle identification for REDTOP as it is crucial for a calorimeter to detect and identify the decay products of eta/eta-prime mesons. Measurements were collected on several ADRIANO2 prototypes between February to December 2022 to evaluate the detector performance. The key metrics extracted from the analyses are presented in this paper are the efficiencies and light-yi eld for various tile configurations. The measured values will be used as input parameters for improved REDTOP Montecarlo simulation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

ADRIANO2 Calorimeter Performance from 2022 Test Beams

A novel high-granularity dual-readout calorimetric technique was developed as part of the T1604 collaboration. The ADRIANO2 Calorimeter Prototype consists of a pair of optically isolated, small sized tiles made of scintillating plastic and lead glass. Čerenkov light from the lead glass are exploited to for high resolution timing measurements, while high granularity from scintillating plastic can be used to probe the spatial component of the particle shower. This setup works for excellent energy resolution and particle detection for REDTOP as it is crucial for a calorimeter to detect the decay products of eta/eta-prime mesons. Measurements were collected on ADRIANO2 between February to December 2022 to evaluate the detector performance at Fermilab’s Test Beam Facility. The key metrics extracted from my analysis are the detector’s efficiency for various tile configuration and light-yield which will then be used as parameters for an upgraded REDTOP monte-carlo simulation campaign. An in-depth analysis of ADRIANO2 performance are detailed in this presentation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

The sweeper spectrometer for neutron invariant-mass spectroscopy at FRIB

Neutron invariant-mass spectroscopy (NIMS) is a key technique for studying unbound and weakly bound nuclei at the limits of stability. At the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), such measurements are performed using the Sweeper spectrometer, a large-gap, high-rigidity dipole system coupled to the MoNA-LISA neutron detector arrays. To meet the demands imposed by higher beam energies (>130 MeV/u) and the broad cocktail-beam selection available at FRIB, the spectrometer has recently been upgraded to improve particle-identification and detection performance. Upstream of the reaction target, a plastic scintillator with Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout provides the global trigger and time reference, two parallel plate avalanche counters (PPACs) track the trajectories of incoming beam particles, and a silicon PIN detector measures the energy loss, ΔE, for charge (Z) identification. After the Sweeper magnet, the trajectories of the reaction products are tracked by two micro-pattern drift chambers (MPDCs), their charge (Z) is identified by a Frisch-grid ionization chamber (FG-IC), and their mass-to-charge ratio (A/Q) is deduced by time-of-flight measurement using a fast plastic scintillator read out by an array of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The detection system also incorporates the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) for neutron detection and the CAESium-iodide scintillator ARray (CAESAR) for high-efficiency γ-ray measurements to enable full kinematic reconstruction. Performance was evaluated using a cocktail beam around 37 Al accelerated at E ≈ 130 MeV/u during the first FRIB campaign, demonstrating the readiness of the upgraded system for future studies of nuclei at and beyond the neutron drip line.

Particle identification methods↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of a High-Energy Neutron Sniffer and Subsequent Dose Quantification for High-Energy Particle Accelerator Shielding Surveys

The objective of this research is to design a portable neutron detector that is lightweight and responds to neutrons with energies of 20 MeV and greater. The instrument will be used as a ‘sniffer’ probe for identifying shielding weaknesses at high-energy particle accelerators and be paired with a plastic scintillator to quantify the high-energy neutron dose equivalent. The sniffer probes are two different sizes and comprised of either cesium iodide or sodium iodide, all doped with thallium, making a total of four detectors. The probes were calibrated to respond only to radiations with 8 MeV electron equivalent energy or higher, vastly reducing detector response from background and lower energy radiations. The sniffer probes were tested using californium- 252 and americium-beryllium sources, followed by high-energy (up to 800 MeV) neutron exposures at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center Weapons Neutron Research (WNR) facility. The sniffer probes were then used to identify areas around the accelerator facility where elevated levels of high-energy radiation was present and the plastic scintillators were placed in these locations to determine the high-energy neutron dose equivalent. The dose equivalent is calculated by measuring the 12 C(n,2n) 11 C reaction, which has a 20.4 MeV neutron threshold. Two locations behind the WNR facility were identified with the probes and the dose equivalent rates from neutron energies above 20 MeV were calculated to be 1.24 mrem/h behind flightpath 30-left and 1.53 behind flightpath 30-right. Of the four sniffer probes, the 2-inch x 2-inch cesium iodide is the recommended probe for performing high-energy shielding surveys. The larger crystal size yields higher sensitivity at lower count rates and the more dense material increases the likelihood of interaction within the crystal.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Scintillator detector characterization for laser-driven proton beam imaging

The spatial resolution and imaging characteristics of plastic scintillators are characterized using laser-driven proton beams. Laser-driven proton beams typically have broad energy spectra and are accompanied by relativistic electrons and high-energy photons, both potentially contributing to background noise. Different types and thicknesses of Eljen Technology scintillators are compared to determine their intrinsic point spread function. Point-projection imaging of a mesh is used to compare the imaging resolution of the scintillator to the usual imaging detector, radiochromic film, and is found to be reasonably comparable and sufficient for many experimental applications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Performance stability of plastics for neutron-gamma pulse shape discrimination

The introduction of the first commercially available plastic scintillators with pulse shape discrimination (PSD) offered by Eljen Technology marked progress towards potentially replacing liquid scintillators in neutron detection. However, use of these plastics over several recent years has revealed an important flaw in these materials: the eventual degradation of scintillation light output and PSD performance. Here, studies described in this paper considered possible reasons for this degradation. Experiments conducted with numerous lab-prepared and commercial EJ-276 samples showed that the main factor affecting the instability is oxidation that involves highly reactive radicals generated during the polymerization process or from the further breakdown of polymer chains under oxygen/air exposure. Based on the obtained results, the stability of scintillation performance for PPO (2,5-Diphenyloxazole)-based PSD plastics has been improved through modifications of the composition via the utilization of scintillation dyes and compounds with antioxidant properties that diminish the effects of oxidation. Elements of these studies were used in the commercial production of the most recent EJ-276D PSD plastic version for fast neutron detection and 6Li-loaded plastics for thermal neutron and antineutrino detection applications. Performance projections of the new PSD plastics indicate a likely degradation of less than 10 % over 5–10 years in comparison to previous EJ-276 that might lose up to 30–40 % of the scintillation light during 1–2 years of storage or deployment under ambient conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

COCOA: A compact Compton camera for astrophysical observation of MeV-scale gamma rays

COCOA (COmpact COmpton cAmera) is a next-generation gamma-ray telescope designed for astrophysical observations in the MeV energy range. The detector comprises a scatterer volume employing the LiquidO detection technology and an array of scintillating crystals acting as absorber. Surrounding plastic scintillator panels serve as a veto system for charged particles. The detector's compact, scalable design enables flexible deployment on microsatellites or high-altitude balloons. Gamma rays at MeV energies have not been well explored historically (the so-called "MeV gap") and COCOA has the potential to improve the sensitivity in this energy band.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unattended Monitoring of Uranium Holdup with Scintillating Fibers

This work evaluated the use of scintillating fiber (SciFi) radiation sensors as a cost-effective, unattended monitoring technique for uranium holdup accumulation in reprocessing equipment. With ruggedized packaging and an outer diameter of less than 1 cm, scintillating fibers offer deployment flexibility. Additionally, plastic scintillating fibers coupled with standard optical fibers provide an affordable option to monitor locations kilometers away from a localized control room or data acquisition (DAQ) system. These combinations of characteristics along with their relatively low manufacturing costs make scintillating fibers ideal for installation at key measurement points such as pipes, valves, and filtration systems.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Qualification study of SiPMs on a large scale for the CMVD Experiment

A Cosmic Muon Veto (CMV) detector using extruded plastic scintillators is being designed around the mini-Iron Calorimeter (mini-ICAL) detector at the transit campus of the India based Neutrino Observatory, Madurai for the feasibility study of shallow depth underground experiments. The scintillation signals that are produced in the plastic due to muon trajectories are absorbed by wavelength shifting (WLS) fibres. The WLS fibres re-emit photons of longer wavelengths and propagate those to silicon photo-multipliers (SiPMs). The SiPMs detect these photons, producing electronic signals. The CMV detector will use more than 700 scintillators to cover the mini-ICAL detector and will require around 3000 SiPMs. The design goal for the cosmic muon veto efficiency of the CMV is >99.99%. Hence, every SiPM used in the detector needs to be tested and characterised to satisfy the design goal of CMV. A mass testing system was developed for the measurement of gain and choice of the overvoltage ($V_{ov}$) of each SiPMs using an LED driver. The $V_{ov}$ is obtained by studying the noise rate, the gain of the SiPM. This paper describes the experimental setup used to test the SiPMs characteristics along with detailed studies of those characteristics as a function of temperature.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Efficient Prompt Scintillation and Fast Neutron-Gamma Ray Discrimination Using Amorphous Blends of Difluorenylsilane Organic Glass and in-situ Polymerized Vinyltoluene

High performance radiation detection materials are an integral part of national security, medical imaging, and nuclear physics applications. Those that offer compositional and manufacturing versatility are of particular interest. In this work, we report a new family of radiological particle-discriminating scintillators containing bis(9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluoren-2- yl)diphenylsilane (compound “P2”) and in-situ polymerized vinyltoluene (PVT) that is phase stable and mechanically robust at any blend ratio. The gamma-ray light yield increases nearly linearly across the composition range, to ~16,400 photons/MeV at 75 % wt. P2. These materials are also capable of γ/n pulse shape discrimination (PSD) and between 20-50 % P2 loading are competitive with the PSD quality of commercially-available plastic scintillators. The 137 Cs scintillation rise and decay times are sensitive to P2 loading and approach the values for “pure” P2. Additionally, the radiation detection performance of P2-PVT blends can be made stable in 60°C air for at least 1.5 months with the application of a thin film of poly(vinylalcohol) to the scintillator surfaces.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

University Partnership Program for Scintillator Materials Research

The Scintillation Detection Development (SDD) group of the Particle Physics Division (PPD) at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) conducts research and development work in the field of materials that exhibit scintillation properties for use in particle detection and identification in nuclear and high energy physics experiments and applications. SDD has established a University Partnership Program for Scintillator Materials Research (Program), to facilitate collaboration with faculty and students from local universities. The collaboration between the SDD group and Dominican University will address the development of new plastic scintillating materials in two ways: 3.1. Synthesis of new organic fluorescent compounds to test with plastics commonly used in scintillation applications 3.2. Preparation and testing of commercially available plastics known for their resilience to radiation and rarely used in scintillation applications

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Compact high repetition rate Thomson parabola ion spectrometer

Here, we present the development of a compact Thomson parabola ion spectrometer capable of characterizing the energy spectra of various ion species of multi-MeV ion beams from >10 20 W/cm 2 laser produced plasmas at rates commensurate with the highest available from any of the current and near-future PW-class laser facilities. This diagnostic makes use of a polyvinyl toluene based fast plastic scintillator (EJ-260), and the emitted light is collected using an optical imaging system coupled to a thermoelectrically cooled scientific complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor camera. This offers a robust solution for data acquisition at a high repetition rate, while avoiding the added complications and nonlinearities of micro-channel plate based systems. Different ion energy ranges can be probed using a modular magnet setup, a variable electric field, and a varying drift-distance. We have demonstrated operation and data collection with this system at up to 0.2 Hz from plasmas created by irradiating a solid target, limited only by the targeting system. With the appropriate software, on-the-fly ion spectral analysis will be possible, enabling real-time experimental control at multi-Hz repetition rates.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Development and validation of a gamma-ray detection response model for neutron-diagnosed subcritical experiments

In a neutron-diagnosed subcritical experiment, a highly sensitive and fast detector is required to accurately determine the true fission γ-ray emission rate from an object composed of special nuclear material under interrogation, in addition to a proper detector response model for use in forward modeling. We present the development of a detector response model that is based in GEANT4 and uses post-processing techniques to include photomultiplier tube time and pulse height response effects. We also define a set of detector performance evaluation metrics that emphasized our experimental objectives. A suite of time and pulse height response measurements for several diverse detector assemblies are described. These assemblies were simulated with this response model and benchmarked against the laboratory measurements. This response model reproduces the pulse height curve shapes and performance hierarchy of the measured detectors well. Additionally, the simulated time response curves exhibit reasonable agreement with counterpart measurements. These measurements and simulation results together suggest that a large volume EJ-299-49 plastic scintillator that is mated to an ultraviolet transmitting plastic light guide and relies on total internal reflection for light transport to the photocathode will provide significantly faster timing, increase pulse height by a factor of 3, and require 25% less γ rays to meet experimental needs, compared to the candidate detector design developed prior to the availability of this response model. Application of this response model and associated performance metrics in the context of large-scale design sensitivity studies is also discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Long-length Scintillating Fibers for Nuclear Geological Repositories

This research focuses on the usage of plastic scintillating fibers as ruggedized detectors in long-length sections coupled to long-length standard optical fiber segments for the purpose of radiation detection and monitoring. This technology addresses a need for monitoring radiation in difficult-to-access or inaccessible areas, such as monitoring: radioactive waste within geological repositories, nuclear material storage facilities, spent fuel dry storage areas, inaccessible areas within nuclear facilities including reactors and reprocessing facilities, decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and other similar areas. The fiber can be placed along the tunnels of a geological repository to monitor the radiation field along its length. This can detect an increase of radiation due to movement, leakage, or unexpected opening of the containers, as well as decrease in the radiation due to removal of material. These capabilities have been demonstrated at INL’s Radioactive Scrap Waste Facility by successfully detecting the removal of an interim storage containers from the storage area. The poster focuses on explaining the technology and its capability in monitoring deep geological repositories (DGRs), especially in the domain of safety and international safeguards. As more countries consider the development of DGRs, technologies such as the one being presented can help establish continuity of knowledge of the material, maintain public confidence, and ensure safe operation of the facility. Furthermore, the poster looks at the future steps of the technology and its potential role in the international safeguards regime.

98 - NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL↗