A neutron time-of-flight system for inertial confinement fusion

Qi Tang; Jiabin Chen; Yunqing Xiao; Tao Yi; Zhongjie Liu; Xiayu Zhan; Zifeng Song

doi:10.1063/1.5109711

A neutron time-of-flight system for inertial confinement fusion

Rev Sci Instrum. 2020 Feb 1;91(2):023508. doi: 10.1063/1.5109711.

Authors

Qi Tang¹, Jiabin Chen¹, Yunqing Xiao¹, Tao Yi¹, Zhongjie Liu¹, Xiayu Zhan¹, Zifeng Song¹

Affiliation

¹ Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang, Sichuan 621900, China.

PMID: 32113434
DOI: 10.1063/1.5109711

Abstract

A neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) system has been implemented at the largest laser facility in China. The nTOF system is used to measure neutron spectra in inertial confinement fusion experiments. The nTOF system consists of 11 fast plastic scintillation detectors. The detectors employed three designs to measure neutron yield, ion temperature, and neutron bang time. The nTOF system is capable of measuring the primary neutron yield from 10⁷ to 10¹³, secondary DT neutron yield from 10⁶ to 10⁸, and ion temperature and neutron bang time yields from 10⁸ to 10¹³. The accuracies of the nTOF system are about 10% for neutron yield and ion temperature measurements and better than 60 ps for neutron bang time measurements. The nTOF system has become one of the most important diagnostics for implosions, and it is used for more than 200 shots per year.