A detector for the characterization of low energy neutron fields

Golabek, C.; Billard, J.; Allaoua, A.; Bosson, G.; Bourrion, O.; Grignon, C.; Guillaudin, O.; Lebreton, L.; Mayet, F.; Petit, M.; Richer, J.P.; Santos, D.

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2012.03.003

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The experimental resolution is higher, by a factor 1.2, than the resolution of the simulated distribution. This simulated resolution is slightly higher than the resolution given by previous simulations (4) .…”

Section: Reconstruction Of the Neutron Energycontrasting

confidence: 55%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Development of a -TPC detector as a standard instrument for low-energy neutron field characterisation

Maire

Billard

Bosson

et al. 2014

Radiation Protection Dosimetry

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In order to measure the energy and fluence of neutron fields, in the energy range of 8 to 1 MeV, a new primary standard is being developed at the Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). This project, Micro Time Projection Chamber (µ-TPC), carried out in collaboration with the Laboratoire de Physqique Subatomique et de Cosmologie (LPSC), is based on the nucleus recoil detector principle. The measurement strategy requires track reconstruction of recoiling nuclei down to a few kiloelectronvolts, which can be achieved using a micro-pattern gaseous detector. A gas mixture, mainly isobutane, is used as an n-p converter to detect neutrons within the detection volume. Then electrons, coming from the ionisation of the gas by the proton recoil, are collected by the pixelised anode (2D projection). A self-triggered electronics system is able to perform the anode readout at a 50-MHz frequency in order to give the third dimension of the track. Then, the scattering angle is deduced from this track using algorithms. The charge collection leads to the proton energy, taking into account the ionisation quenching factor. This article emphasises the neutron energy measurements of a monoenergetic neutron field produced at 127 keV. The fluence measurement is not shown in this article. The measurements are compared with Monte Carlo simulations using realistic neutron fields and simulations of the detector response. The discrepancy between experiments and simulations is 5 keV mainly due to the calibration uncertainties of 10 %.

show abstract

Section: Reconstruction Of the Neutron Energycontrasting

confidence: 55%

“…The µ-TPC is a proton recoil detector and aims at characterizing low energy neutron fields (4) , between 8 keV and 1 MeV. The use of a gas as a n-p converter *Corresponding author: donovan.maire@irsn.fr and the detection of proton recoils are the only answer to reach such an energy range.…”

Section: Technical Description Of the µ-Tpcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a -TPC detector as a standard instrument for low-energy neutron field characterisation

Maire

Billard

Bosson

et al. 2014

Radiation Protection Dosimetry

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To that end, the laboratory has undergone the development of a recoil nuclei-based gas spectrometer, called LNE-IRSN/MIMAC [2], (MIcro-tpc MAtrix of Chambers) in order to provide reference values of the neutron fluence, and neutron fluence energy distribution in the energy range of a few keV up to 5 MeV. For the lowest energies, between 8 keV and 565 keV, a iC4H10 (isobutane) + 50% CHF3 gas mixture, at 30 and 50 hPa gas pressure, could provide promising results [3] [4]. The development of the LNE-IRSN/MIMAC detector is a collaborative effort with the Laboratory of Subatomic Physics and Cosmology (LPSC), which has developed the first MIMAC prototype for directional dark matter search [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ionization Quenching Factor measurement of 1 keV to 25 keV protons in Isobutane gas mixture

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The French Institute for Radiation protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) is providing reference neutron fluence energy distribution at its standard monoenergetic neutron fields, produced at the AMANDE facility. The neutron energy is assessed by measuring the recoil nuclei energy in a µTPC detector, the LNE-IRSN/MIMAC detector. The knowledge of the ionization quenching factor (IQF) is fundamental to determine the kinetic energy of the recoil nuclei. For some various gases and pressures, discrepancies of about 15% were observed between IQF calculations using the SRIM software and experimental measurements. No data are available for the iC4H10 + 50% CHF3 gas mixture which are used for measurements from a few keV up to 565 keV neutron energies in the µTPC detector. The experimental determination of the IQF is of primary importance to provide reference neutron fluence energy distribution. After a short description of the experimental set-up, this paper presents the first results of the IQF measurements in a iC4H10 + 50% CHF3 gas mixture in the energy range 1 keV -25 keV.

show abstract

“…a target with a non-vanishing spin in an electronegative gas [60]. Note that the angular resolution of directional detectors must be evaluated through detector commissioning, using an ion beam or neutron field [61], and accounted for in dedicated data analyses [44].…”

Section: B Track Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on the discovery reach of Dark Matter directional detection

Mayet

Billard

2013

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cosmological observations indicate that most of the matter in the Universe is Dark Matter. Dark Matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) can be detected directly, via its elastic scattering off target nuclei. Most current direct detection experiments only measure the energy of the recoiling nuclei. However, directional detection experiments are sensitive to the direction of the nuclear recoil as well. Due to the Sun's motion with respect to the Galactic rest frame, the directional recoil rate has a dipole feature, peaking around the direction of the Solar motion. This provides a powerful tool for demonstrating the Galactic origin of nuclear recoils and hence unambiguously detecting Dark Matter. Furthermore, the directional recoil distribution depends on the WIMP mass, scattering cross section and local velocity distribution. Therefore, with a large number of recoil events it will be possible to study the physics of Dark Matter in terms of particle and astrophysical properties. We review the potential of directional detectors for detecting and characterizing WIMPs.

show abstract

A detector for the characterization of low energy neutron fields

Cited by 11 publications

References 27 publications

Development of a -TPC detector as a standard instrument for low-energy neutron field characterisation

Development of a -TPC detector as a standard instrument for low-energy neutron field characterisation

Ionization Quenching Factor measurement of 1 keV to 25 keV protons in Isobutane gas mixture

A review on the discovery reach of Dark Matter directional detection

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About