Study of the neutron background at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory

Cebrián, S.; Beltrán, B.; Carmona, J. M.; Garcı́a, E.; Irastorza, I. G.; Luzón, G.; Martínez, M.; Morales, A.; Morales, J.; Solórzano, A. Ortíz de; Pobes, C.; Puimedón, J.; Ruz, J.; Sarsa, M.L.; Torres, L.; Villar, J.A.

doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2004.11.015

Cited by 1 publication

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“…With a detector surface of ~667 cm 2 a detection limit of ~2x10 -8 n cm -2 s -1 is derived. This is two orders of magnitude lower than the neutron fluence rate in underground facilities at moderate (1-2 km water-equivalent) depth [20,42]. In spite of the reduced detection efficiency, the time required for the characterization of such neutron environments (~1 count/day) in 10 energy groups with 10 detectors operating in the varying temperature method is ~2 weeks, which is easily manageable with remote monitoring and control such as that employed e.g.…”

Section: Neutron Fluence and Event Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intrinsic noise of a superheated droplet detector for neutron background measurements in massively shielded facilities

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Superheated droplet detectors are a promising technique to the measurement of low-intensity neutron fields, as detectors can be rendered insensitive to minimum ionizing radiations. We report on the intrinsic neutron-induced signal of C 2 ClF 5 devices fabricated by our group that originate from neutron-and alpha-emitting impurities in the detector constituents. The neutron background was calculated via Monte Carlo simulations using the MCNPX-PoliMi code in order to extract the recoil distributions following neutron interaction with the atoms of the superheated liquid. Various nuclear techniques were employed to characterise the detector materials with respect to source isotopes ( 238 U, 232 Th and 147 Sm) for the normalisation of the simulations and also light elements (B, Li) having high (D,n) neutron production yields. We derived a background signal of ~10 -3 cts/day in a 1 liter detector of 1-3 wt.% C 2 ClF 5 , corresponding to a detection limit in the order of 10 -8 n cm -2 s -1 . Direct measurements in a massively shielded underground facility for dark matter search have confirmed this result. With the borosilicate detector containers found to be the dominant background source in current detectors, possibilities for further noise reduction by ~2 orders of magnitude based on selected container materials are discussed.

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Section: Neutron Fluence and Event Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%