Transmission of very slow neutrons through material foils and its influence on the design of ultracold neutron sources

F. Atchison, B. Blau, A. Bollhalder, M. Daum, P. Fierlinger, P. Geltenbort, G. Hampel, M. Kasprzak, K. Kirch, S. Köchli, B. Kuczewski, H. Leber, M. Locher, M. Meier, S. Ochse, A. Pichlmaier, C. Plonka, R. Reiser, J. Ulrich, X. WangN. Wiehl, O. Zimmer, G. Zsigmond

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

At the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), a very intense source of ultracold neutrons (UCN) is being built. The UCN converter of solid deuterium must be contained in a vessel. Produced UCN leave that vessel through its top lid. To decide on the design of the vessel and the top lid, we have measured the transmission of neutrons with velocities between 3 and 20 m/s through different material foils. Contrary to expectations, we found that transmission through aluminium and aluminium alloys is equal or even higher compared to zirconium and reactor-grade zirconium alloys, respectively.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)144-151
Number of pages8
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume608
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2009

Keywords

  • Neutron sources
  • Ultracold neutron sources
  • Ultracold neutrons

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