A new neutron time-of-flight detector for yield and ion-temperature measurements at the OMEGA Laser Facility

Journal Article · Wed Sep 28 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Review of Scientific Instruments

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0101514· OSTI ID:1897072

Glebov, V. Yu. ^[1]; Forrest, C. J. ^[2]; Kendrick, J. ^[2]; Knauer, J. P. ^[2]; Mannion, O. M. ^[3]; McClow, H. ^[2]; Regan, S. P. ^[2]; Stoeckl, C. ^[2]; Stanley, B. ^[2]; Theobald, W. ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States); Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester
2. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
3. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

A new neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detector for deuterium–deuterium (DD)-fusion yield and ion-temperature measurements was designed, installed, and calibrated for the OMEGA Laser Facility. This detector provides an additional line of sight for DD neutron yield and ion-temperature measurements for yields exceeding 1 × 10¹⁰ with higher precision than existing detectors. The nTOF detector consists of a 90-mm-diam, 20-mm-thick BC-422 scintillator and a gated Photek photomultiplier tube (PMT240). The PMT collects scintillating light through the 20-mm side of the scintillator without the use of a light guide. There is no lead shielding from hard x rays in order to allow the x-ray instrument response function of the detector to be measured easily. Instead, hard x-ray signals generated in implosion experiments are gated out by the PMT. The design provides a place for glass neutral-density filters between the scintillator and the PMT to avoid PMT saturation at high yields. The nTOF detector is installed in the OMEGA Target Bay along the P8A sub-port line of sight at a distance of 5.3 m from the target chamber center. In addition to DD measurements, the same detector can be used to measure the neutron yield and ion temperature from deuterium–tritium (DT) implosion targets in the 5 × 10¹⁰ to 2 × 10¹² yield range. Here, the design details and the calibration results of this nTOF detector for both D₂ and DT implosions on OMEGA will be presented.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: NA0003856; NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 1897072
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1890023
• Journal Information: Review of Scientific Instruments, Journal Name: Review of Scientific Instruments Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 93; ISSN 0034-6748
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics (AIP)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
Deuterium
Hard X-rays
Lasers
Microchannel plate detectors
Oscilloscopes
Photocathodes
Photomultipliers
Scintillation counter
Tritium