Designing an upgrade of the Medley setup for light-ion production and fission cross-section measurements

TL;DR

This paper details the upgrade and simulation of the Medley setup for measuring neutron-induced fission and light-ion production in the 1-40 MeV range, addressing challenges with cross-section data and detector design.

Contribution

It introduces customizations to Geant4 simulations for accurate modeling of neutron interactions above 20 MeV and proposes an optimized detector and target design for precise measurements.

Findings

Feasibility of simultaneous cross section measurements using a triple-layered target.

Design restrictions for PPAC detectors and target thickness based on simulation results.

Validation of Geant4's usability for neutron reaction simulations in this energy range.

Abstract

Measurements of neutron-induced fission cross sections and light-ion production are planned in the energy range 1-40 MeV at the upcoming Neutrons For Science (NFS) facility. In order to prepare our detector setup for the neutron beam with continuous energy spectrum, a simulation software was written using the Geant4 toolkit for both measurement situations. The neutron energy range around 20 MeV is troublesome when it comes to the cross sections used by Geant4 since data-driven cross sections are only available below 20 MeV but not above, where they are based on semi-empirical models. Several customisations were made to the standard classes in Geant4 in order to produce consistent results over the whole simulated energy range. Expected uncertainties are reported for both types of measurements. The simulations have shown that a simultaneous precision measurement of the three standard cross sections H(n,n), $^{235}$U(n,f) and $^{238}$U(n,f) relative to each other is feasible using a triple layered target. As high resolution timing detectors for fission fragments we plan to use Parallel Plate Avalanche Counters (PPACs). The simulation results have put some restrictions on the design of these detectors as well as on the target design. This study suggests a fissile target no thicker than 2 micrometers (1.7 mg/cm$^2$) and a PPAC foil thickness preferably less than 1 micrometer. We also comment on the usability of Geant4 for simulation studies of neutron reactions in this energy range.