Studying the Neutron Yield from a Target of a Compact Neutron Source on the LUE-8 Accelerator Using Helium-3 and Boron-10 Detectors

• Published in: Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Physics Vol. 82; no. 6; pp. 728 - 730
• Main Authors: Meshkov, I. V., Kuznetsov, S. P., Potashev, I. S., Burmistrov, Yu. M., Karaevsky, S. Kh, Solodukhov, G. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.06.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Background radiation; Boron; Boron 10; Detectors; Electromagnetic interference; Gamma rays; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Helium isotopes; Neutrons; Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Position sensing; Pulse amplitude; Sensors; Signal processing; Solid state physics; Thermal neutrons
• ISSN: 1062-8738; 1934-9432
• DOI: 10.3103/S1062873818060199

The neutron yield from a target of a photoneutron source on the beam of the LUE-8 accelerator is studied to optimize the mode of accelerator operation for research in nuclear and solid state physics. Neutrons are detected using a helium-3 counter with an efficiency of 80% for thermal neutrons and a position-sensitive detector with a 10 B layer working in the counting mode. These detectors ensure stable operation under conditions of a high gamma-ray background and electromagnetic interference. The desired signals are identified by processing the spectra recorded by a pulse height analyzer. The technique is tested using a constant neutron source under conditions of a minimal gamma-ray background and electromagnetic array. The pulse rise time is 3 μs and the pulse decay time is approximately 15 μs. In an experiment on the accelerator, data from the 10 B detector are acquired as a event-by-event sequence of the pulse height and absolute time. At the same time, data from the 3 He detector are transformed into a pulse height spectrum. These two detectors show satisfactory agreement in measuring the neutron yield normalized to the current of the accelerator beam.