Abstract: This work presents GN-Vision, a novel dual gamma-ray and neutron imaging system, which aims at simultaneously obtaining information about the spatial origin of gamma-ray and neutron sources. The proposed device is based on two position sensitive detection planes and exploits the Compton imaging technique for the imaging of gamma-rays. In addition, spatial distributions of slow- and thermal-neutron sources (<100 eV) are reconstructed by using a passive neutron pin-hole collimator attached to the first detection plane. The proposed gamma-neutron imaging device could be of prime interest for nuclear safety and security applications. The two main advantages of this imaging system are its high efficiency and portability, making it well suited for nuclear applications were compactness and real-time imaging is important. This work presents the working principle and conceptual design of the GN-Vision system and explores, on the basis of Monte Carlo simulations, its simultaneous gamma-ray and neutron detection and imaging capabilities for a realistic scenario where a Cf-252 source is hidden in a neutron moderating container.

Abstract: i-TED is an innovative detection system which exploits Compton imaging techniques to achieve a superior signal-to-background ratio in (n, gamma) cross-section measurements using time-of-flight technique. This work presents the first experimental validation of the i-TED apparatus for high-resolution time-of-flight experiments and demonstrates for the first time the concept proposed for background rejection. To this aim, the Au-197(n, gamma) and Fe-56(n, gamma) reactions were studied at CERN n_TOF using an i-TED demonstrator based on three position-sensitive detectors. Two C6D6 detectors were also used to benchmark the performance of i-TED. The i-TED prototype built for this study shows a factor of similar to 3 higher detection sensitivity than state-of-the-art C6D6 detectors in the 10 keV neutron-energy region of astrophysical interest. This paper explores also the perspectives of further enhancement in performance attainable with the final i-TED array consisting of twenty position-sensitive detectors and newanalysis methodologies based on Machine-Learning techniques.

Abstract: We report on a hybrid in-beam PET and prompt-gamma Compton imaging system aimed at quasi real-time ion-range verification in proton-therapy treatments. Proof-of-concept experiments were carried out at the radiobiology beam line of the CNA cyclotron facility using a set of two synchronous Compton imagers and different target materials. The time structure of the 18 MeV proton beam was shaped with a series of beam-on and beam-off intervals, thereby mimicking a pulsed proton beam on a long time scale. During beam-on intervals, Compton imagingwas performed utilizing the high energy. -rays promptly emitted from the nuclear reactions occurring in the targets. In the course of the beam-off intervals in situ positron-emission tomography was accomplished with the same imagers using the beta+ decay of activated nuclei. The targets used were stacks of different materials covering also various proton ranges and energies. A systematic study on the performance of these two complementary imaging techniques is reported and the experimental results interpreted on the basis ofMonte Carlo calculations. The results demonstrate the possibility to combine both imaging techniques in a concomitant way, where high-efficiency prompt-gamma imaging is complemented with the high spatial accuracy of PET. Empowered by these results we suggest that a pulsed beam with a suitable duty cycle, in conjunction with in situ Compton- and PET-imaging may help to attain complementary information and quasi real-time range monitoring with high accuracy.

Abstract: Low efficiency total-energy detectors (TEDs) are one of the main tools for neutron capture cross section measurements utilizing the time-of-flight (TOF) technique. State-of-the-art TEDs are based on a C6D6 liquid-scintillation cell optically coupled to a fast photomultiplier tube. The large photomultiplier tube represents yet a significant contribution to the so-called neutron sensitivity background, which is one of the most conspicuous sources of uncertainty in this type of experiments. Here we report on the development of a first prototype of a TED based on a silicon-photomultiplier (SiPM) readout, thus resulting in a lightweight and much more compact detector. Apart from the envisaged improvement in neutron sensitivity, the new system uses low voltage (+28 V) and low current supply (-50 mA), which is more practical than the-kV supply required by conventional photomultipliers. One important difficulty hindering the earlier implementation of SiPM readout for this type of detector was the large capacitance for the output signal when all pixels of a SiPM array are summed together. The latter leads to long pulse rise and decay times, which are not suitable for time-of-flight experiments. In this work we demonstrate the feasibility of a Schottky-diode multiplexing readout approach, that allows one to preserve the excellent timing properties of SiPMs, hereby paving the way for their implementation in future neutron TOF experiments.

Abstract: A methodology for the production of PbSe targets for Se-79 neutron capture cross section studies is presented. PbSe material was synthesized by direct reaction of its constituents at high temperature, and characterized by X-ray diffraction. Thin PbSe targets, produced for cross section experiments with the surrogate reaction method, were obtained by applying a physical vapor deposition technique, and their morphology and composition were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. (PbSe)-Se-79 targets produced for cross section measurements with the Time of Flight method were characterized by gamma-ray spectroscopy. Finally, a procedure for the recovery of Se from PbSe is suggested. The purity of the retrieved Se was determined with Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy.