Neutron Activation Diagnostics Research Articles

3D reconstruction of an inertial-confinement fusion implosion with neural networks using multiple heterogeneous data sources.

3D asymmetries are major degradation mechanisms in inertial-confinement fusion implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). These asymmetries can be diagnosed and reconstructed with the neutron imaging system (NIS) on three lines of sight around the NIF target chamber. Conventional tomographic reconstructions are used to reconstruct the 3D morphology of the implosion using NIS [Volegov et al., J. Appl. Phys. 127, 083301 (2020)], but the problem is ill-posed with only three imaging lines of sight. Asymmetries can also be diagnosed with the real-time neutron activation diagnostics (RTNAD) and the neutron time-of-flight (nToF) suite. Since the NIS, RTNAD, and nToF each sample a different part of the implosion using different physical principles, we propose that it is possible to overcome the limitations of too few imaging lines of sight by performing 3D reconstructions that combine information from all three heterogeneous data sources. This work presents a new machine learning-based reconstruction technique to do just this. By using a simple physics model and group of neural networks to map 3D morphologies to data, this technique can easily account for data of multiple different types. A simple proof-of-principle is presented, demonstrating that this technique can accurately reconstruct a hot-spot shape using synthetic primary neutron images and a hot-spot velocity vector. In particular, the hot-spot's asymmetry, quantified as spherical harmonic coefficients, is reconstructed to within ±4% of the radius in 90% of test cases. In the future, this technique will be applied to actual NIS, RTNAD, and nToF data to better understand 3D asymmetries at the NIF.

Novel deuterium-tritium (DT) neutron activation diagnostics for increased neutron yield operations at Sandia's Z-facility (invited).

As inertial confinement fusion experiments at Sandia National Laboratories' Z-facility begin using deuterium-tritium (DT) fuels, the expected DT-neutron yields are expected to increase many orders of magnitude. This brings about the need for diagnostics that have a significantly higher dynamic range of operation and ability to obtain yields where there will be significant radiation holds. Using the current activation diagnostic infrastructure at the Z-facility, a pair of activation diagnostics are being developed. The first is fluorine activation, which will be used in a similar manner to current copper activation diagnostics that are fielded in a rabbit for quick removal from the experiments without opening the vacuum experiment containment. The second is a prompt DT-neutron detector that exploits the activation of oxygen with similar operation characteristics as the current Be-probes fielded at Z. We will discuss the design of this pair of instruments, along with calibration work performed at Sandia's Ion Beam Laboratory in support of the development and anticipated instrument performance.

Inferring neutron yields using indium activation samples for small fractions of tritium added to deuterium fuel in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments.

In inertial confinement fusion experiments, the neutron yield is an important metric for thermonuclear fusion performance. Neutron activation diagnostics can be used to infer neutron yields. The material used for neutron activation diagnostic undergoes a threshold reaction so that only neutrons having energies above the threshold energy are observed. For thermonuclear experiments using deuterium (D) and tritium (T) fuel constituents, neutrons arising from D + D reactions (DD-neutrons) and neutrons resulting from D + T reactions (DT-neutrons) are of primary interest. Indium has two neutron activation reactions that can be used to infer yields of DD-neutrons and DT-neutrons. One threshold is high enough that only DT-neutrons can induce activation, the second reaction can be activated by both DD-neutrons and DT-neutrons. Thus, to obtain the DD-neutron yield, the contribution made by DT-neutrons to the total induced activity must be extracted. In DD-fuel experiments, DT-neutrons arise from secondary reactions, which are significantly lower in number than primary DD-neutrons, and their contribution to the inferred DD-neutron yield can be ignored. When the DD- and DT-neutron yields become comparable, such as when low tritium fractions are added to DD-fuel, the contribution of DT-neutrons must be extracted to obtain accurate yields. A general method is described for this correction to DD-neutron yields.

Neutron fluence distribution in experiments with 3 MA deuterium gas-puff z-pinch

Deuterium gas-puff z-pinches are very efficient laboratory sources of neutron pulses. Using a novel hybrid gas-puff load on the GIT-12 generator, a significant increase in the neutron yields up to 5.6×1012 is reached. At the same time, a very broad neutron energy spectrum up to energies on the order of tens of MeV is observed. In these experiments, the neutrons are produced not only by the D(d,n)3He (DD) nuclear reaction but also by reactions of multi-MeV deuterons with the experimental hardware. The angular distribution of the neutron fluence and dependence of the fluence on the distance from the z-pinch are measured using neutron activation diagnostics. By this method, a number of produced non-DD neutrons and anisotropy of DD neutron emission are evaluated.

Synthetic nuclear diagnostics for inferring plasma properties of inertial confinement fusion implosions

A suite of synthetic nuclear diagnostics has been developed to post-process radiation hydrodynamics simulations performed with the code Chimera. These provide experimental observables based on simulated capsule properties and are used to assess alternative experimental and data analysis techniques. These diagnostics include neutron spectroscopy, primary and scattered neutron imaging, neutron activation, γ-ray time histories and carbon γ-ray imaging. Novel features of the neutron spectrum have been analysed to infer plasma parameters. The nT and nD backscatter edges have been shown to provide a shell velocity measurement. Areal density asymmetries created by low mode perturbations have been inferred from the slope of the downscatter spectrum down to 10 MeV. Neutron activation diagnostics showed significant aliasing of high mode areal density asymmetries when observing a capsule implosion with 3D multimode perturbations applied. Carbon γ-ray imaging could be used to image the ablator at a high convergence ratio. Time histories of both the fusion and carbon γ signals showed a greater time difference between peak intensities for the perturbed case when compared to a symmetric simulation.

Velocity correction for neutron activation diagnostics at the NIF.

The velocity distribution of the hotspot in an inertial confinement fusion implosion changes the energy spectra of fusion neutrons emitted from the experiment as a function of viewing angle. These velocity-induced spectral changes affect the response of neutron activation diagnostics (NADs) positioned around the experiment and must be accounted for to correctly extract information about areal density (ρR) asymmetry from the data. Three mechanisms through which average hotspot velocity affects NAD activation are addressed: change in activation cross section due to the Doppler shift of the mean neutron energy, kinematic focusing of neutron fluence, and change in the scattering cross section due to the Doppler shift. Using the hotspot velocity inferred from neutron time-of-flight measurements of D-T and D-D fusion neutrons, the hotspot velocity is shown to account for the observed NAD activation asymmetry in a calibration shot with negligible fuel ρR. A robust method to evaluate uncertainties in spherical-harmonic fits to the NAD data due to the velocity correction and detector uncertainty is discussed.

Neutron Spectrum Measured by Activation Diagnostics in Deuterium Gas-Puff Experiments on the 3 MA GIT-12 Z-Pinch

A set of neutron diagnostics including scintillation time-of-flight detectors, bubble detectors, and several kinds of threshold nuclear activation samples is used to obtain information about the yield and spectrum of the neutrons produced by a deuterium gas-puff z-pinch. The experiments are performed at a current of about 3 MA on the GIT-12 generator at the Institute of High Current Electronics of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences in Tomsk. The average neutron yield in the experiments in 2016 was $2.3 \times 10^{12}$ neutrons per single shot. Using the data obtained with the help of neutron activation diagnostics, the time-of-flight detectors have been absolutely calibrated and the broad energy spectrum of the produced neutrons was evaluated. By the calculations presented in this paper, due to the multi-MeV energies of deuterons generated in the pinch, up to 15% of the total neutron yield could be produced by nuclear reactions of deuterons with a stainless steel vacuum chamber and aluminum components of the diagnostic apparatus inside the chamber.

Development of Enhanced, Permanently-Installed, Neutron Activation Diagnostic Hardware for NIF

Neutron activation diagnostics are baseline neutron yield and flux measurement instruments at the National Ignition Facility. Up to 19 activation samples are distributed around the target chamber. Currently the samples must be removed to be counted, creating a 1-2 week data turn-around time and considerable labor costs. An improved system consisting of a commercially available LaBr3(Ce) scintillator and Power over Ethernet electronics is under development. A machined zirconium-702 cap over the detector is the activation medium to measure the 90Zr(n,2n)89Zr reaction. The detectors are located at the current neutron activation diagnostic sites and monitored remotely. Because they collect data in real time yield values are returned within a few hours after a NIF shot.

Nuclear Diagnostics at the National Ignition Facility, 2013-2015

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) relies on a suite of nuclear diagnostics to measure the neutronic output of experiments. Neutron time-of-flight (NTOF) and neutron activation diagnostics (NAD) provide performance metrics of absolute neutron yield and neutron spectral content: spectral width and non-thermal content, from which implosion physical quantities of temperature and scattering mass are inferred. Spatially-distributed flange- mounted NADs (FNAD) measure, with nearly identical systematic uncertainties, primary DT neutron emission to infer a whole-sky neutron field. An automated FNAD system is being developed. A magnetic recoil spectrometer (MRS) shares few systematics with comparable NTOF and NAD devices, and as such is deployed for independent measurement of the primary neutronic quantities. The gas-Cherenkov Gamma Reaction History (GRH) instrument records four energy channels of time-resolved gamma emission to measure nuclear bang time and burn width, as well as to infer carbon areal density in experiments utilizing plastic or diamond capsules. A neutron imaging system (NIS) takes two images of the neutron source, typically gated to create coregistered 13-15 MeV primary and 6-12 MeV downscattered images. The radiochemical analysis of gaseous samples (RAGS) instrument pumps target chamber gas to a chemical reaction and fractionation system configured with gamma counters, allowing measurement of radionuclides with half-lives as short as 8 seconds. Solid radiochemistry collectors (SRC) with backing NAD foils collect target debris, where activated materials from the target assembly are used as indicators of neutron spectrum content, and also serve as the primary diagnostic for nuclear forensic science experiments. Particle time-of-flight (PTOF) measures compression-bang time using DT- or DD-neutrons, as well as shock bang-time using D3He-protons for implosions with lower x-ray background. In concert, these diagnostics serve to measure the basic and advanced quantities required to understand NIF experimental results.

Simulations of symcap and layered NIF experiments with top/bottom laser asymmetry to impose P1 drive on capsules

Integrated hohlraum/capsule post-shot simulation of the first full-scale cryogenic layered-DT experiment with top/bottom laser asymmetries of 8% is discussed. The imposed P1 Legendre mode drive on the capsule results in downward velocity of 85 ± 15 km/s as measured by neutron time of flight (NTOF) diagnostics and x-ray imagers, which is in excellent agreement with the calculated velocity of 87 km/s. The measured DT yield is approximately 30% less than the average of two comparable shots using the same 4 shock HiFoot pulse shape without drive asymmetry. The calculated DT yield of 5.0e15 is very close to the measured value of 4.86e15 for the shot with drive asymmetry, which implies that P1 effects dominate yield reduction. The neutron activation diagnostics (NADs) give clear indication of higher areal density in the direction of the north pole in excellent agreement with calculations. Integrated post-shot simulation of an earlier symcap (capsule with appropriate ablator thicknesses to act as a surrogate for an ignition capsule) experiment with laser asymmetries show that calculated neutron-wighted velocity is a strong function of capsule shape.

Fusion-neutron-yield, activation measurements at the Z accelerator: design, analysis, and sensitivity.

We present a general methodology to determine the diagnostic sensitivity that is directly applicable to neutron-activation diagnostics fielded on a wide variety of neutron-producing experiments, which include inertial-confinement fusion (ICF), dense plasma focus, and ion beam-driven concepts. This approach includes a combination of several effects: (1) non-isotropic neutron emission; (2) the 1/r(2) decrease in neutron fluence in the activation material; (3) the spatially distributed neutron scattering, attenuation, and energy losses due to the fielding environment and activation material itself; and (4) temporally varying neutron emission. As an example, we describe the copper-activation diagnostic used to measure secondary deuterium-tritium fusion-neutron yields on ICF experiments conducted on the pulsed-power Z Accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories. Using this methodology along with results from absolute calibrations and Monte Carlo simulations, we find that for the diagnostic configuration on Z, the diagnostic sensitivity is 0.037% ± 17% counts/neutron per cm(2) and is ∼ 40% less sensitive than it would be in an ideal geometry due to neutron attenuation, scattering, and energy-loss effects.

Neutron activation diagnostics at the National Ignition Facility (invited)

Neutron yields are measured at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) by an extensive suite of neutron activation diagnostics. Neutrons interact with materials whose reaction cross sections threshold just below the fusion neutron production energy, providing an accurate measure of primary unscattered neutrons without contribution from lower-energy scattered neutrons. Indium samples are mounted on diagnostic instrument manipulators in the NIF target chamber, 25-50 cm from the source, to measure 2.45 MeV deuterium-deuterium fusion neutrons through the (115)In(n,n')(115 m) In reaction. Outside the chamber, zirconium and copper are used to measure 14 MeV deuterium-tritium fusion neutrons via (90)Zr(n,2n), (63)Cu(n,2n), and (65)Cu(n,2n) reactions. An array of 16 zirconium samples are located on port covers around the chamber to measure relative yield anisotropies, providing a global map of fuel areal density variation. Neutron yields are routinely measured with activation to an accuracy of 7% and are in excellent agreement both with each other and with neutron time-of-flight and magnetic recoil spectrometer measurements. Relative areal density anisotropies can be measured to a precision of less than 3%. These measurements reveal apparent bulk fuel velocities as high as 200 km/s in addition to large areal density variations between the pole and equator of the compressed fuel.