https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201714603016
Accurate measurement of a fission chamber efficiency using the prompt fission neutron method
1 CENBG, CNRS/IN2P3-Université de Bordeaux, Chemin du Solarium, BP. 120, 33175 Gradignan, France
2 Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie, CNRS/IN2P3, Univ. Joseph Fourier, INPG, 53 avenue des Martyrs, 38026 Grenoble Cedex, France
a e-mail: mathieu@cenbg.in2p3.fr
Published online: 13 September 2017
Fission Chambers (FC) are often used to determine fission cross sections and to measure the neutron beam flux via standard neutron-induced fission reactions. Thus, the fission detection efficiency is a key parameter. Several methods exist to determine this efficiency, with a final accuracy not better than 1%. The detection of prompt fission neutrons allows events related to the fission process to be tagged, and enables the efficiency to be inferred with accuracy of the order of few 0.1%. This method is very robust since it is independent in first order to several factors like geometry, used materials or neutron contour selection. To obtain high accuracy, few corrections have still to be taken into account. In particular, the neutron detectors have to cover several detection angles. In addition, the background contribution of neutrons from cosmic rays or from an accelerator has to be removed. Several experiments based on the use of a 252Cf source are presented to describe all these points.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2017
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
