Underground measurements and simulations on the muon intensity and 12C-induced nuclear reactions at low energies

The reaction 12C(α,γ)16O is of paramount importance for the nucleosynthesis of heavier elements in stars. It takes place during helium burning and determines the abundance of 12C and 16O at the end of this burning stage and therefore influences subsequent nuclear reactions. Currently the cross section at astrophysically relevant energies is not known with satisfactory precision. Due to the low cross section of the reaction, low background, high beam intensities and target thicknesses are necessary for experiments. Therefore a new laboratory hosting a 5 MV ion accelerator, was built in the shallow-underground tunnels of Felsenkeller. The main background component in such laboratories was investigated with a muon telescope in this thesis. It was found, that the rock overburden of about 45 m vertical depth reduces the muons by a factor of about 40 compared to the surface. Furthermore the results of the measurements were compared to a simulation based on the geometry of the facility and showed good agreement. In the next step the accelerator was put into operation. Since the experiment on 12C(α,γ)16O will be done in inverse kinematics, an intense carbon beam is necessary to reach sufficient statistics. For this, the creation and extraction of carbon ions in an external ion source was improved. The external source now provides steady currents of 12C− of above 100 μA. In the following the transmission through the accelerator and the high-energy beamline was tested with a beam restricted in width. The pressure of the gas stripper in the centre of the accelerator and the parameters of different focusing elements after the accelerator were varied. It was found, that for a desired carbon beam energy of below 9 MeV, the 2+ charge state is suited best, where up to 35% of the inserted beam could be transmitted. To ease the planning of future experiments and aid the analysis of the data, the target chamber and two different kinds of cluster detectors were modelled in Geant4. The low-energy region was verified by comparing the simulations to measurements with radioactive calibration sources. Deviations for the detectors were below 10% without target chamber, and up to 30% for individual germanium crystals of the Cluster Detectors with the target chamber. A first test measurement was undertaken to investigate the capabilities of the new laboratory. Solid tantalum targets implanted with 4 He were prepared. An ERDA analysis of the used solid targets showed contaminations with carbon and oxygen. These led to beam-induced background in the region of interest during the irradiation. Then the targets were irradiated with a carbon beam at two different energies. While no clear signal of 12C(α,γ)16O could be observed, the beam could be steered on the target for the whole duration of the beam time spanning five days. Problems during this test, like low beam current, were identified. These could be partly remedied in the scope of this thesis. Suggestions for improvements for a second test run were developed as well

Charakterisierung eines schnellen Diamantdetektors als Proton-Bunch-Monitor für die Reichweiteverifikation in der Protonentherapie

Für die Reichweiteverifikation in der Protonentherapie mittels Prompt Gamma-Ray Timing (PGT) wird ein Proton-Bunch-Monitor (PBM) benötigt, um Phaseninstabilitäten zwischen den Protonen-Mikropulsen und der Radiofrequenz (RF) des Zyklotrons zu eliminieren. In dieser Arbeit wurde demonstriert, dass ein Diamantdetektor diese anspruchsvolle Aufgabe erfüllen kann. Dazu wurde ein polykristalliner Diamantdetektor in diversen Experimenten umfassend charakterisiert. An ELBE wurde eine Zeitauflösung von 82(6) ps für minimal-ionisierende Elektronen bestimmt. Die Auflösung bei der Detektion von Protonen klinischer Energien wurde am OncoRay ermittelt und betrug im Mittel 314(17) ps. Des Weiteren wurden Experimente durchgeführt, die auf die optimale Position des Detektors in der späteren klinischen Anwendung nahe des Degraders schließen lassen. Bei der Anwendung als PBM konnte der Diamantdetektor Phasenverschiebungen zur RF mit einer zeitlichen Auflösung von weniger als 3 ps bei einem Messintervall von 30 ms detektieren. Diese Phasenverschiebungen konnten auch in weiten Teilen durch das Phasenkontrollsignal U_phi, welches im Rahmen dieser Arbeit erstmalig ausgewertet wurde, bestätigt werden. Mit dem Diamantdetektor und U_phi stehen nun zwei PBM zur Verfügung, mit denen ein zentrales Problem bei der klinischen Anwendung von PGT als Reichweite-Verifikationsmethode gelöst werden kann.:1 Motivation 2 Grundlagen der Reichweiteverifikation in der Protonentherapie 2.1 Wechselwirkung von geladenen Teilchen mit Materie 2.2 Tiefendosiskurven 2.3 Praktische Aspekte der Protonentherapie 2.4 Reichweiteunsicherheiten 2.5 Prompt Gamma-Ray Timing (PGT) 2.6 Proton-Bunch-Monitore (PBM) 3 Entwicklung eines Vorverstärkers für den Diamantdetektor 3.1 Untersuchungen mit Generatorsignalen 3.2 Untersuchungen mit radioaktiven Prüfstrahlern 3.3 Ergebnisse 4 Bestimmung der Zeitauflösung am Elektronenstrahl 4.1 Bestimmung der Zeitauflösung eines Detektors mit einer Flugzeitmessung 4.2 Experimenteller Aufbau 4.3 Datenerfassung 4.4 Ergebnisse 4.5 Zusammenfassung 5 Bestimmung der Zeitauflösung am klinischen Protonenstrahl 5.1 Experimentalraum am OncoRay 5.2 Experimenteller Aufbau 5.3 Bestimmung der Zeitauflösung eines Detektors mit einer Koinzidenzmessung 5.4 Ablauf der Messung 5.5 Datenerfassung 5.6 Ergebnisse 5.7 Diskussion 5.8 Zusammenfassung 6 Optimierung der Position des Diamantdetektors am Degrader 6.1 Vorbetrachtungen 6.2 Experimenteller Aufbau 6.3 Ergebnisse 6.4 Diskussion 6.5 Zusammenfassung 7 Einsatz des Diamantdetektors als PBM 7.1 Experimenteller Aufbau 7.2 Datenerfassung 7.3 Ablauf der Messung 7.4 Ergebnisse 7.5 Diskussion und Ausblick 7.6 Zusammenfassung 8 Zusammenfassende Diskussion A Anhang A.1 Produktzertifikat des Diamantdetektors A.2 Zertifikate der radioaktiven Prüfstrahler A.3 Feinzeit-Korrektur beim U100-Spektrometer A.4 Zeitdifferenz-Histogramme für Variante A1 und A2 des Koinzidenzexperiments A.5 Der Diamantdetektor als PBM bei automatischer Phasenanpassung A.6 Der Diamantdetektor als PBM bei manueller Phasenanpassung Literaturverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Liste der verwendeten Akronyme Danksagung und Eigenständigkeitserklärun

Annual Report 2021 - Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research

The year 2021 was still overshadowed by waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, although the arrival of efficient vaccinations together with the experience of the preceding year gave us a certain routine in handling the situation. By now the execution of meetings in an online mode using zoom and similar video conference systems has been recognized as actually being useful in certain situations, e.g. instead of flying across Europe to attend a three-hours meeting, but also to be able to attend seminars of distinguished scientists which otherwise would not be easily accessible. The scientific productivity of the institute has remained on a very high level, counting 190 publications with an unprecedented average impact factor of 8.0. Six outstanding and representative publications are reprinted in this Annual Report. 16 new third-party projects were granted, among them 7 DFG projects, but very remarkably also an EU funded project on nonlinear magnons for reservoir computing with industrial participation of Infineon Technologies Dresden and GlobalFoundries Dresden coordinated by Kathrin Schultheiß of our Institute. The scientific success was also reflected in two HZDR prizes awarded to the members of the Institute: Dr. Katrin Schultheiß received the HZDR Forschungspreis for her work on “Nonlinear magnonics as basis for a spin based neuromorphic computing architecture”, and Dr. Toni Hache was awarded the Doktorandenpreis for his thesis entitled “Frequency control of auto-oscillations of the magnetization in spin Hall nano-oscillators”. Our highly successful theoretician Dr. Arkady Krasheninnikov was quoted as Highly Cited Researcher 2021 by Clarivate. The new 1-MV facility for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has been ordered from NEC (National Electrostatics Corporation). Design of a dedicated building to house the accelerator, the SIMS and including additional chemistry laboratories for enhanced sample preparation capabilities has started and construction is planned to be finished by mid 2023, when the majority of the AMS components are scheduled for delivery. In the course of developing a strategy for the HZDR - HZDR 2030+ Moving Research to the NEXT Level for the NEXT Gens - six research focus areas for our institute were identified. Concerning personalia, it should be mentioned that the long-time head of the spectroscopy department PD Dr. Harald Schneider went into retirement. His successor is Dr. Stephan Winnerl, who has been a key scientist in this department already for two decades. In addition, PD Dr. Sebastian Fähler was hired in the magnetism department who transferred several third-party projects with the associated PhD students to the Institute and strengthens our ties to the High Magnetic Field Laboratory, but also to the Institute of Fluid Dynamics. Finally, we would like to cordially thank all partners, friends, and organizations who supported our progress in 2021. First and foremost we thank the Executive Board of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, the Minister of Science and Arts of the Free State of Saxony, and the Ministers of Education and Research, and of Economic Affairs and Climate Action of the Federal Government of Germany. Many partners from universities, industry and research institutes all around the world contributed essentially, and play a crucial role for the further development of the institute. Last but not least, the directors would like to thank all members of our institute for their efforts in these very special times and excellent contributions in 2021

Annual Report 2021 - Institute of Resource Ecology

The Institute of Resource Ecology (IRE) is one of the eight institutes of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden–Rossendorf (HZDR). Our research activities are mainly integrated into the program “Nuclear Waste Management, Safety and Radiation Research (NUSAFE)” of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and focus on the topics “Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal” and “Safety Research for Nuclear Reactors”. The program NUSAFE, and therefore all work which is done at IRE, belong to the research field “Energy” of the HGF. IRE conducts applied basic research to protect humans and the environment from the effects of radioactive radiation. For this purpose, we develop molecular process understand-ing using state-of-the-art methods of microscopy, spectroscopy, diffraction, numerical simulation, theoretical chemistry and systems biology. We implement this in a cross-institutional research environment at the HZDR. Our active interdisciplinarity combines radiochemistry, geosciences and biosciences as well as materials science and reactor physics. We provide knowledge that is applied in particular to reactor and repository safety as well as in radioecology. We achieve this goal with a unique infrastructure comprising chemical and biological laboratories as well as hot cells in corresponding radiation and biology safety laboratories in Dresden, Leipzig and Grenoble. In Grenoble, at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the institute operates a beamline with four experimental stations for continuously advanced X-ray spectroscopy and diffraction of radio-active samples, which is also available to external users

Dose formation using a pulsed high-field solenoid beamline for radiobiological in vivo studies at a laser-driven proton source

Proton sources driven by high-power lasers are a promising addition to the portfolio of conventional proton accelerators. Regarding particle cancer therapy, where tumours are irradiated with protons or ions, the novel accelerator technology can be particularly beneficial for translational research - the research branch in which results of basic research are transferred to new approaches for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The overarching aim in the thesis at hand was a translational pilot study to irradiate tumours on mice’s ears with laser-accelerated protons while achieving the quality level of conventional proton accelerators. This is the only way to compare the radiobiological data of the novel accelerator technology with those of the established ones. To enable such experiments a predetermined dose distribution according to the radiobiological model’s requirements must be delivered to a sample volume. Ergo, the laser-driven protons have to be transported and shaped after their initial acceleration. Intense laser-driven proton pulses, inherently broadband and highly divergent, pose a challenge to established beamline concepts on the path to application-adapted irradiation field formation, particularly for 3D. This work demonstrates the successful implementation of a highly efficient and tuneable pulsed dual solenoid setup to generate a homogeneous (laterally and in depth) volumetric dose distribution using only a single dose pulse from the broad laser-driven proton spectrum. The experiments using the ALBUS-2S beamline were conducted at the titanium:sapphire high-power laser Draco PW at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden–Rossendorf. The beamline and its model were characterised and verified via independent methods, leading to first experimental studies providing volumetrically homogeneous dose distributions to detector targets as well as tumour and normal tissue in proof-of-concept studies. To perform the mouse pilot study, a new solenoid with cooling capacities was designed, characterised and implemented in the course of this thesis. The combination of the new solenoid and an overall performance improvement of the laser-proton accelerator, enabled the successful conduction of the mouse model study. The results show that laser-accelerated protons induce a comparable tumour growth delay as protons from conventional accelerators. This outcome and the demonstration of the flawless interaction between laser-proton accelerator, beam transport, dosimetry and biology qualify the laser-based accelerator technology for complex studies in translational cancer research. Looking into the future, their unique extremely high intensity renders them of particular interest for the investigation into the ultra-high dose rate regime. There, the so-called FLASH effect shows fewer side effects in normal tissue while maintaining the same effect in the tumour when the target dose is administered in milliseconds rather than minutes, as currently common. The ALBUS-2S setup at Draco PW already provides all necessary conditions to realise irradiation times of around ten nanoseconds in preclinical studies. This significantly expands the parameter space for investigating the FLASH effect and is presented as a proof-of-concept in this thesis

Joint project: Geochemical retention of radionuclides on cement alteration phases (GRaZ) - Subproject B

The report summarizes the results obtained by the Institute of Resource Ecology of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf within the BMWi-financed Joint Research Project “Geochemical retention of radionuclides on cement alteration phases (GRaZ)”. The project focused on the retention behavior of Ca-bentonite and cementitious material, both constituents of the geo-engineered barrier of deep geological repositories for high-level radioactive waste, towards radionuclides. Specifically, the influence of increased salinities and of hyperalkaline conditions on interaction processes in the system radionuclides – organics – clay/cementitious materials – aquifer was studied. For this purpose, complexation, sorption and desorption studies were performed at alkaline to hyperalkaline pH conditions (pH 8-13) and under variation of the ionic strength (0.1 to 4 M) applying complex solution compositions. For the U(VI) citrate system molecular structures dominating in the pH range 2-9 were studied spectroscopically (NMR, UV-Vis, FT-IR). As dominating species 2:2, 3:3, 3:2 and, above critical concentrations also 6:6 and 9:6 U(VI) citrate complexes were identified or confirmed and complex formation constants were determined. U(VI) sorption on Ca-bentonite at (hyper)alkaline conditions in mixed electrolyte solutions was studied by means of batch sorption experiments. The U(VI) retention on Ca-bentonite was shown to be very effective at pH>10, even in the presence of carbonate and despite the prevalence of anionic aqueous uranyl species. The presence of two independent U(VI) surface complexes on Ca-bentonite at pH 8-13 was shown by site-selective TRLFS and EXAFS spectroscopy. The sorption of anionic uranyl hydroxide complexes to the mineral surface was shown to be mediated by calcium cations. In further experiments, the effect of isosaccharinic acid (ISA) and polycarboxylate ether (PCE) on U(VI) and Eu(III) sorption, respectively, on Ca-bentonite was studied. An effect of ISA on U(VI) sorption on Ca-bentonite only occurs when ISA is present in very high excess to U(VI). The effect of PCE, as a commercial cement superplasticizer, on Eu(III) sorption onto Ca-bentonite was negligible already at moderate ionic strengths. The retention of U(VI) and Cm(III) by various C-(A-)S-H phases, representing different alteration stages of concrete, was studied by batch sorption experiments. Sorbed or incorporated actinide species were identified by TRLFS. The stability of U(VI) and Cm(III) doped C-(A-)S-H phases at high ionic strengths conditions was studied in solutions simulating the contact with North German claystone formation water. Potential changes of actinide speciation as well as formation of secondary phases due to leaching effects were followed spectroscopically. The results of this project show that both bentonite and cementitious material constitute an important retention barrier for actinides under hyperalkaline conditions and increased ionic strength

Annual Report 2020 - Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research

As for everybody else also for the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research (IIM), the COVID-19 pandemic overshadowed the usual scientific life in 2020. Starting in March, home office became the preferred working environment and the typical institute life was disrupted. After a little relaxation during summer and early fall, the situation became again more serious and in early December we had to severely restrict laboratory activities and the user operation of the Ion Beam Center (IBC). For the most part of 2020, user visits were impossible and the services delivered had to be performed hands-off. This led to a significant additional work load on the IBC staff. Thank you very much for your commitment during this difficult period. By now user operation has restarted, but we are still far from business as usual. Most lessons learnt deal with video conference systems, and everybody now has extensive experience in skype, teams, webex, zoom, or any other solution available. Conferences were cancelled, workshops postponed, and seminar or colloquia talks delivered online. Since experimental work was also impeded, maybe 2020 was a good year for writing publications and applying for external funding. In total, 204 articles have been published with an average impact factor of about 7.0, which both mark an all-time high for the Institute. 13 publications from last year are highlighted in this Annual Report to illustrate the wide scientific spectrum of our institute. In addition, 20 new projects funded by EU, DFG, BMWi/AiF and SAB with a total budget of about 5.7 M€ have started. Thank you very much for making this possible. Also, in 2020 there have been a few personalia to be reported. Prof. Dr. Sibylle Gemming has left the HZDR and accepted a professor position at TU Chemnitz. Congratulations! The hence vacant position as the head of department was taken over by PD Dr. Artur Erbe by Oct. 1st. Simultaneously, the department has been renamed to “Nanoelectronics”. Dr. Alina Deac has left the institute in order to dedicate herself to new opportunities at the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Dr. Matthias Posselt went to retirement after 36 years at the institute. We thank Matthias for his engagement and wish him all the best for the upcoming period of his life. However, also new equipment has been setup and new laboratories founded. A new 100 kV accelerator is integrated into our low energy ion nanoengineering facility and complements our ion beam technology in the lower energy regime. This setup is particularly suited to perform ion implantation into 2D materials and medium energy ion scattering (MEIS). Finally, we would like to cordially thank all partners, friends, and organizations who supported our progress in 2020. First and foremost we thank the Executive Board of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, the Minister of Science and Arts of the Free State of Saxony, and the Ministers of Education and Research, and of Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal Government of Germany. Many partners from univer¬sities, industry and research institutes all around the world contributed essentially, and play a crucial role for the further development of the institute. Last but not least, the directors would like to thank all members of our institute for their efforts in these very special times and excellent contributions in 2020

Annual Report 2019 - Institute of Resource Ecology

The Institute of Resource Ecology (IRE) is one of the eight institutes of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden –Rossendorf (HZDR). Our research activities are mainly integrated into the program “Nuclear Waste Management, Safety and Ra-diation Research (NUSAFE)” of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and focused on the topics “Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal” and “Safety Research for Nuclear Reactors”. The program NUSAFE, and therefore all work which is done at IRE, belong to the research field “Energy” of the HG