Thermal neutron flux evaluation by a single crystal CVD diamond detector in LHD deuterium experiment

The single crystal CVD diamond detector (SDD) was installed in the torus hall of the Large Helical Device (LHD) to measure neutrons with high time resolution and neutron energy resolution. The LiF foil with 95.62 % of 6Li isotope enrichment pasted on the detector was used as the thermal neutron convertor as the energetic ions of 2.0 MeV alpha and 2.7 MeV triton particles generated in LiF foil and deposited the energy into SDD. SDD were exposed to the neutron field in the torus hall of the LHD during the 2nd campaign of the deuterium experiment. The total pulse height in SDD was linearly propotional to the neutron yield in a plasma operation in LHD over 4 orders of magnitude. The energetic alpha and triton were separately measured by SDD with LiF with the thickness of 1.9 μm, although SDD with LiF with the thickness of 350 μm showed a broadened peak due to the large energy loss of energetic particles generated in the bulk of LiF. The modeling with MCNP and PHITS codes well interpreted the pulse height spectra for SDD with LiF with different thicknesses. The results above demonstrated the sufficient time resolution and energy discrimination of SDD used in this work

Progress in development of the neutron profile monitor for the large helical device

The neutron profile monitor stably operated at a high-count-rate for deuterium operations in the Large Helical Device has been developed to enhance the research on the fast-ion confinement. It is composed of a multichannel collimator, scintillation-detectors, and a field programmable gate array circuit. The entire neutron detector system was tested using an accelerator-based neutron generator. This system stably acquires the pulse data without any data loss at high-count-rate conditions up to 8 × 105 counts per second

Benchmark Calculation of d-Li Thick Target Neutron Yield by JENDL/DEU-2020 for IFMIF and Similar Facilities

An accelerator-based neutron source using d-Li reactions is one of the most promising neutron sources for fusion material irradiation facilities such as IFMIF, where 40 MeV deuterons bombard a liquid lithium target. The neutron yield estimation including angular neutron spectra is one of the most important issues in the design of such irradiation facilities. Recently, JAEA released deuteron nuclear data of JENDL/DEU-2020 in ACE format file for Monte Carlo codes such as MCNP, and in Frag-Data format for the PHITS code. We carry out thebenchmark calculations of d-Li neutron yield by using PHITS with Frag-Data, MCNP with JENDL/DEU-2020, and MCNP/PHITS with built-in nuclear reaction models. Those calculation results are compared with experimental data. It is confirmed that PHITS with Frag Data and MCNP with JENDL/DEU-2020 reproduce well the experimental data. Those are useful for the neutron yield estimation and also the irradiation field characterization of IFMIF and similar facilities

Study on the Calibration of LHD Neutron Monitoring System * )

Neutron monitoring is quite important because neutron yield generated by fusion reactions corresponds to the fusion output. In design of the neutron monitor, Monte Carlo simulations play an important role to make corrections on various parameters, such as neutron energy spectrum and spatial distribution when determining the calibration constant. We consider the calibration procedures using a Cf point source toroidally rotating in the vacuum vessel, and evaluate uncertainties of the calibration constant for the neutron detector placed on the center axis

Neutron yield calculation of thin and thick d-D targets by using PHITS with frag data table

The D(d, n)3He reaction is one of the common monoenergetic neutron sources. We compile the Frag Data table of D(d, n)3He reaction from the literature as an external cross-section data for PHITS. We confirm the validity of the Frag Data table by the calculation of the total and angular neutron yield calculations for an ideal deuterium thin target. Finally, PHITS with the Frag Data table is applied to the angular neutron yield and spectrum calculations of the gas target and the deuterium-loaded titanium target of the Tohoku University Fast Neutron Laboratory

Quenching Effect in an Optical Fiber Type Small Size Dosimeter Irradiated with 290 MeV·u−1 Carbon Ions

BackgroundWe are developing a small size dosimeter for dose estimation in particle therapies. The developed dosimeter is an optical fiber based dosimeter mounting an radiation induced luminescence material, such as an OSL or a scintillator, at a tip. These materials generally suffer from the quenching effect under high LET particle irradiation.Materials and MethodsWe fabricated two types of the small size dosimeters. They used an OSL material Eu:BaFBr and a BGO scintillator. Carbon ions were irradiated into the fabricated dosimeters at Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC). The small size dosimeters were set behind the water equivalent acrylic phantom. Bragg peak was observed by changing the phantom thickness. An ion chamber was also placed near the small size dosimeters as a reference.Results and DiscussionEu:BaFBr and BGO dosimeters showed a Bragg peak at the same thickness as the ion chamber. Under high LET particle irradiation, the response of the luminescence-based small size dosimeters deteriorated compared with that of the ion chamber due to the quenching effect. We confirmed the luminescence efficiency of Eu:BaFBr and BGO decrease with the LET. The reduction coefficient of luminescence efficiency was different between the BGO and the Eu:BaFBr. The LET can be determined from the luminescence ratio between Eu:BaFBr and BGO, and the dosimeter response can be corrected.ConclusionWe evaluated the LET dependence of the luminescence efficiency of the BGO and Eu:BaFBr as the quenching effect. We propose and discuss the correction of the quenching effect using the signal intensity ratio of the both materials. Although the correction precision is not sufficient, feasibility of the proposed correction method is proved through basic experiments

Correction of quenching effect of a small size OSL dosimeter using Eu:BaFBr and Ce:CaF2

To accurately estimate an actual dose during radiotherapy treatment, dosimeters are required to be inserted into the affected region in a patient\u27s body. Therefore, we are developing a small size dosimeter consisting of optical fibers and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) elements. We fabricated two types of small size dosimeters using Eu:BaFBr and Ce:CaF2. We measured the Bragg peak of high energy carbon ions in a water equivalent material. OSL materials showed the quenching effect when irradiated by high linear energy transfer (LET) particles. The sensitivity of Eu:BaFBr and Ce:CaF2 monotonically decreased with different coefficients. The ratio of the signal intensity of these two OSL materials can uniquely determine the sensitivity of each OSL material. We corrected the quenching effect of the OSL dosimeters in the spread out Bragg peak with this relationship

A novel allele of fission yeast rad11 that causes defects in DNA repair and telomere length regulation

Replication protein A (RPA) is a heterotrimeric single-stranded DNA-binding protein involved in DNA replication, recombination and repair. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, several mutants in the RFA1 gene encoding the large subunit of RPA have been isolated and one of the mutants with a missense allele, rfa1-D228Y, shows a synergistic reduction in telomere length when combined with a yku70 mutation. So far, only one mutant allele of the rad11(+) gene encoding the large subunit of RPA has been reported in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. To study the role of S.pombe RPA in DNA repair and possibly in telomere maintenance, we constructed a rad11-D223Y mutant, which corresponds to the S.cerevisiae rfa1-D228Y mutant. rad11-D223Y cells were methylmethane sulfonate, hydroxyurea, UV and γ-ray sensitive, suggesting that rad11-D223Y cells have a defect in DNA repair activity. Unlike the S.cerevisiae rfa1-D228Y mutation, the rad11-D223Y mutation itself caused telomere shortening. Moreover, Rad11-Myc bound to telomere in a ChIP assay. These results strongly suggest that RPA is directly involved in telomere maintenance