Neutron Scintillators for Downscattered Neutron Imaging
Images of neutron emission from Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) (D,T) targets reveal the internal structure of the target during the fusion burn. 14-MeV neutrons provide images which show the size and shape of the region where (D,T) fusion is most intense. Images based on ''downscattered'' neutrons with energies from 5 to 10 MeV emphasize the distribution of deuterium and tritium fuel within the compressed target. The downscattered images are difficult to record because the lower energy neutrons are detected with less efficiency than the much more intense pulse of 14-MeV neutrons which precedes them at the detector. The success of downscattered neutron imaging will depend on the scintillation decay times and the sensitivities to lower-energy neutrons of the scintillator materials that are used in the detectors. A time-correlated photon counting system measured the decay of neutron-induced scintillation for times as long as several hundred ns. Accelerators at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provided stable 14-MeV neutron sources for the measurements. Measurements of scintillator decay characteristics indicate that some commercially available scintillators should be suitable for recording both 14-MeV and downscattered neutron images of compressed ICF targets.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15005366
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-152377; TRN: US0305363
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2003 Third International Conference on Inertial Fusion Sciences and Applications, Monterey, CA (US), 09/07/2003--09/12/2003; Other Information: PBD: 25 Aug 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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