Neutron-induced nucleation inside bubble chambers using Freon 115 as the active medium

Abstract

Neutron imaging is used in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments to measure the core symmetry of imploded targets. Liquid bubble chambers have the potential to obtain higher resolution images of the targets for a shorter source–target distance than typical scintillator arrays. Due to the fact that nucleation models used in gel detectors research cannot always give correct estimates for the neutron-induced bubble density inside a liquid bubble chamber, an improved theoretical model to describe the mechanism of bubble formation for Freon 115 as the active medium has been developed. It shows that the size of the critical radius for the nucleation process determines the mechanism of bubble formation and the sensitivity of the active medium to the 14.1-MeV incident neutrons resulting from ICF implosions. The bubble-growth mechanism is driven by the excitation of the medium electronic levels and not by electrons ejected from the medium's atoms as happens for the bubble chambers used to detect charged particles. The model accurately predicts the neutron-induced bubble density measured on OMEGA with both liquid bubble chambers and gel detectors.