CR-39 track detector calibration for H, He, and C ions from 0.1-0.5 MeV up to 5 MeV for laser-induced nuclear fusion product identification
- LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau (France)
- CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon (France)
- ENEA for EUROfusion, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Rome) (Italy)
- Université Bordeaux, CNRS, CEA, CELIA (Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications), UMR 5107, F-33405 Talence (France)
- Department of Physics, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0081 (United States)
Laser-accelerated ion beams can be used in many applications and, especially, to initiate nuclear reactions out of thermal equilibrium. We have experimentally studied aneutronic fusion reactions induced by protons accelerated by the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism, colliding with a boron target. Such experiments require a rigorous method to identify the reaction products (alpha particles) collected in detectors among a few other ion species such as protons or carbon ions, for example. CR-39 track detectors are widely used because they are mostly sensitive to ions and their efficiency is near 100%. We present a complete calibration of CR-39 track detector for protons, alpha particles, and carbon ions. We give measurements of their track diameters for energy ranging from hundreds of keV to a few MeV and for etching times between 1 and 8 h. We used these results to identify alpha particles in our experiments on proton-boron fusion reactions initiated by laser-accelerated protons. We show that their number clearly increases when the boron fuel is preformed in a plasma state.
- OSTI ID:
- 22482733
- Journal Information:
- Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 86, Issue 8; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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