Abstract: The realization of pulsed-laser diffused, thin n+ contacts on high purity germanium (HPGe) and their successful segmentation is described. The contacts have been obtained by a laser-induced diffusion of Sb atoms, deposited by sputtering on Ge surface, and then segmented by means of a photolithographic technique. Three small prototypes of gamma ray detectors have been implemented, using the same n+ contact (laser diffused Sb) but with three different geometries and a B implanted p+ contact. Electrical and detection properties of the prototypes have been characterized, showing low leakage currents and good spectroscopy data with different gamma-ray sources. The stability of the detector performance has also been tested subjecting one of the prototypes to a typical annealing treatment.

Abstract: Lifetimes of negative-parity states have been determined in the neutron deficient semi-magic (N = 50) nucleus Rh-95. The fusion-evaporation reaction Ni-58(Ca-40, 3p) was used to populate high-spin states in Rh-95 at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) accelerator facility. The results were obtained using the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method (DSAM) based on the Doppler broadened line shapes produced during the slowing down process of the residual nuclei in a thick 6 mg/cm(2) metallic target. B(M1) and B(E2) reduced transition strengths are compared with predictions from large-scale shell-model calculations. state-of-the-art theory. Remarkably, the structural features up to moderate angular momentum of nuclei immediately below the N = Z = 50 shell closures can be described with high accuracy in a very simple way by shell-model calculations including only the g(9/2) and p(1/2) subshells. Of special interest is the neutron-proton pair coupling scheme which is expected to appear in the heaviest N=Z nuclei [1,2] and the seniority structure of the N = 50 isotones [3-7]. However, multiple core-excited states have been observed in the semi-magic nuclei of the Sn-100 region [8-10]. The theoretical study of those states is a challenging task, which requires a significantly larger model space for their interpretation. Transition probabilities between nuclear states provide important constraints for theoretical modelling of the structure of the nuclei of interest. Our previous lifetime study of the semimagic (N = 50) nucleus Ru-94 [ 11,12] provided information on the electromagnetic decay properties of neutron-core excited states. We now address lifetime measurements in its closest, more neutron deficient, isotone Rh-95 using the same DSAM technique. The experimental results have been interpreted within the framework of large-scale shell-model (LSSM) calculations.

Abstract: The joint evaluated fission and fusion nuclear data library 3.3 is described. New evaluations for neutron-induced interactions with the major actinides 235U, 238U and 239Pu, on 241Am and 23Na, 59Ni, Cr, Cu, Zr, Cd, Hf, W, Au, Pb and Bi are presented. It includes new fission yields, prompt fission neutron spectra and average number of neutrons per fission. In addition, new data for radioactive decay, thermal neutron scattering, gamma-ray emission, neutron activation, delayed neutrons and displacement damage are presented. JEFF-3.3 was complemented by files from the TENDL project. The libraries for photon, proton, deuteron, triton, helion and alpha-particle induced reactions are from TENDL-2017. The demands for uncertainty quantification in modeling led to many new covariance data for the evaluations. A comparison between results from model calculations using the JEFF-3.3 library and those from benchmark experiments for criticality, delayed neutron yields, shielding and decay heat, reveals that JEFF-3.3 performes very well for a wide range of nuclear technology applications, in particular nuclear energy.

Abstract: The performance of the Pulse-Shape Analysis (PSA) in AGATA HPGe detectors was investigated and improved employing a -ray source measurement based on e+e- annihilation radiation after decays of Na-22 by + decay. The first interaction positions of the two 511keV rays were determined and the connecting line of these two positions was compared to the known source position as a measure for the PSA performance. The position resolution and its dependence on the PSA parameters were investigated by varying most relevant input quantities: the charge carrier mobility of the holes, the response of the employed measuring electronics especially the preamplifier rise time. The relative statistical weight of charge signals and transient signals was scrutinized. The optimal distance metric of the grid-search algorithm and its impact on the position resolution were determined.

Abstract: The KM3NeT infrastructure consists of two deep-sea neutrino telescopes being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. The telescopes will detect extraterrestrial and atmospheric neutrinos by means of the incident photons induced by the passage of relativistic charged particles through the seawater as a consequence of a neutrino interaction. The telescopes are configured in a three-dimensional grid of digital optical modules, each hosting 31 photomultipliers. The photomultiplier signals produced by the incident Cherenkov photons are converted into digital information consisting of the integrated pulse duration and the time at which it surpasses a chosen threshold. The digitization is done by means of time to digital converters (TDCs) embedded in the field programmable gate array of the central logic board. Subsequently, a state machine formats the acquired data for its transmission to shore. We present the architecture and performance of the front-end firmware consisting of the TDCs and the state machine.