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Characterization of electroless nickel-phosphorus plating for ultracold-neutron storage

Journal Article · · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
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  1. Nagoya Univ. (Japan)
  2. Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB (Canada)
  3. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada)
  4. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada); Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada)
  5. University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB (Canada)
  6. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  7. SNOLAB, Sudbury, ON (Canada)
  8. Osaka Univ. (Japan)
  9. High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba (Japan); J-PARC, Tokai (Japan)
  10. Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB (Canada)
  11. High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba (Japan)
  12. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada)
  13. University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC (Canada)
  14. Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany)
  15. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada); University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB (Canada)
  16. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada); University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB (Canada)
  17. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada); Osaka Univ. (Japan)
  18. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada); TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada)
  19. Osaka Univ. (Japan); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou (China)
  20. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada); Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby, BC (Canada)
  21. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada); Coburg University of Applied Science (Germany)
  22. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Electroless nickel plating is an established industrial process that provides a robust and relatively low-cost coating suitable for transporting and storing ultracold neutrons (UCN). Using roughness measurements and UCN-storage experiments we characterized UCN guides made from polished aluminum or stainless-steel tubes plated by several vendors. All electroless nickel platings were similarly suited for UCN storage with an average loss probability per wall bounce of 2.8 • 10-4 to 4.1 • 10-4 for energies between 90 neV and 190 neV, or a ratio of imaginary to real Fermi potential η of 1.7 • 10-4 to 3.3 • 10-4. Measurements at different elevations indicate that the energy dependence of UCN losses is well described by the imaginary Fermi potential. Some special considerations are required to avoid an increase in surface roughness during the plating process and hence a reduction in UCN transmission. Increased roughness had only a minor impact on storage properties. In conclusion, based on these findings we chose a vendor to plate the UCN-production vessel that will contain the superfluid-helium converter for the new TRIUMF UltraCold Advanced Neutron (TUCAN) source, achieving acceptable UCN-storage properties with η = 3.5(5)•10-4.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
2446676
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1962883
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--22-28641
Journal Information:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Journal Name: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment Vol. 1049; ISSN 0168-9002
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Atomic
Nuclear and Particle Physics
Electroless nickel
Storage lifetime
Surface roughness
Ultracold neutrons