Detector calibration based on secondary protons of Back-n white neutron source

Abstract

At present, there exist few proton-beam terminals for the detector calibration in the world. Meanwhile, most of these terminals provide monoenergetic protons. Back-n white neutron source from China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS) was put into operation in 2018. Based on the white neutron flux ranging from 0.5 eV to 200 MeV from the CSNS Back-n white neutron source, continuous-energy protons involved in a wide energy spectrum can be acquired from the <sup>1</sup>H(n, el) reaction. Adopting this method, a new research platform for researches such as proton calibration is realized at CSNS. As hydrogen exists as gas at normal temperature and pressure, in the selecting of the proton-converting target, the hydrogen-rich compounds are preferential considered. Considering the reaction cross sections of the <sup>1</sup>H(n, el), <sup>12</sup>C(n, p)<sup>12</sup>B, <sup>12</sup>C(n, d)<sup>11</sup>B, <sup>12</sup>C(n, t)<sup>10</sup>B, <sup>12</sup>C(n, <sup>3</sup>He)<sup>10</sup>Be, <sup>12</sup>C(n, α)<sup>9</sup>Be and <sup>1</sup>H(n, γ)<sup>2</sup>H, polyethylene and polypropylene are suitable for serving as targets in this research. Based on a 3U PXIe, digitizers with 1 GSps sampling rate and 12 bit resolution are utilized to digitize and record the output signals of telescopes. The time and amplitude information of each signal are extracted from its recorded waveform. Proton fluxes can be calculated by using the neutron energy spectrum and the cross section of the <sup>1</sup>H(n, el) reaction. Using the γ-flash event as the starting time of the time-of-flight (TOF) and the time information of signal in detector as the stopping time, the kinematic energy of each secondary proton can be deduced from the TOF and the angle of the detector. A calibration experiment on three charged particle telescopes, with each telescope consisting of a silicon detector and a CsI(Tl) detector, is carried out on this research platform. The readout methods of the CsI(Tl) detectors in these three telescopes are different. In the calibration experiment, Δ<i>E-</i><i>E</i> two-dimensional spectra and amplitude-<i>E</i><sub>p</sub> two-dimensional spectra of these telescopes are obtained. Through comparing these particle identification spectra, the SiPM is chosen as the signal readout method for CsI(Tl) detectors in the charged particle telescopes. These researches provide experimental evidence for the construction of the charged particle telescope at Back-n, and also illustrate the feasibility of wide-energy spectrum proton calibration based on the Back-n white neutron source.