Accurate Measurements of (p,n) Thresholds in the Proton Energy Range 5 to 10 MeV

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A number of precise (p, n) threshold measurements have been made in the proton energy range up to about 4 MeV, providing some suitable calibration points for electrostatic generators (see for example the review by Marion 1). However, now that tandem accelerators have extended the proton energy range in which high-precision nuclear physics experiments can be carried out, the establishment of calibration points for higher proton energies is very desirable. Some (p, n) threshold studies in this region have already been made by Bromley et al.2 and more recently by Bonner et al.3. In this work neutrons were detected by the counter-ratio technique, which has been so successful at proton energies up to about 6 MeV. However this method encounters some difficulties at higher energies because of an increasingly large neutron background produced when the direct or scattered protons react with various parts of the apparatus.