Neutron Irradiation Tests Research Articles

250 μm Thick Detectors for Neutron Detection: Design, Electrical Characteristics, and Detector Performances

Solid State Detectors (SSD) are crucial for fast neutron detection and spectroscopy in tokamaks due to their solid structure, neutron-gamma discrimination, and magnetic field resistance. They provide high energy resolutions without external conversion stages, enabling compact array installations in the harsh environment of a tokamak. Research comparing diamond and 4H-SiC detectors highlights thickness as a key efficiency factor. A 250 μm SiC epilayer with low doping, grown using a high-growth-rate process, exhibits sharp interfaces and minimal defects, essential for neutron detectors. The study evaluates detector designs, and performance using a 4H-SiC substrate. Various detector designs, such as Schottky diodes and p/n diodes, are assessed via I-V and C-V measurements, addressing high depletion voltage challenges. Preliminary neutron irradiation tests validate detector functionality, energy resolution and confirming detector reliability.

Effects of Gamma-ray and neutron irradiation on infrared optical properties of ZnSe and ZnS for ITER divertor thermography

Gamma-ray and neutron irradiation tests were performed by using antireflective-coated and non-antireflective-coated samples of ZnSe and ZnS to examine the impact on their infrared optical properties. In neutron irradiation tests, ZnSe and ZnS samples showed minimal transmittance reduction even up to 1.44 × 1016 n/cm2 (evaluated by dpa value, the values are 5.77 × 10−6, 2.07 × 10−5 for ZnSe and ZnS, respectively), about 5.8 times higher than the expected neutron fluence in ITER. Gamma irradiation at 100 kGy did not affect any of the samples, however, at 5.6 MGy (2.6x the expected dose of ITER), non-antireflective-coated ZnSe and ZnS exhibited induced absorption bands. Antireflective coating did partially mitigate this effect, but ZnS, even with antireflective coating, showed up to 2.5 % degradation over the wide wavelength range of 1.5–4.5 µm, whereas ZnSe was less affected. Both ZnSe and ZnS exhibited a modest 2 % absorption around 3 µm. Surface analysis by SEM, laser microscope, and XPS linked the 3-µm degradation to gamma-irradiation-induced Zn(OH)2 formation that was confined to the surface. Thus, transmittance degradation of ZnSe over the lifespan of ITER was estimated to be a maximum of approximately 7.8 %. The practical use of ZnSe in the IRTh system requires further evaluation with Si and CaF2 lenses and for the optical design to be finalized. Nevertheless, these findings suggest that ZnSe is a promising candidate for the IRTh system's lenses.

Experimental emulation of 10B(n, α)7Li reaction-induced microstructural evolution of Al-B4C neutron absorber used in the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel

Al-B4C neutron absorber in spent fuel dry storage could suffer significant radiation damage at elevated temperature (∼150–300 °C) mainly via 10B(n, α)7Li reactions. Several recent studies reported significant bubble formation in the absorber, however only from wet storage environment at near ambient temperature (< ∼90 °C). In this study, we irradiated a commercially widely used Al-B4C absorber of interest utilizing 120-keV helium ion-beam accelerator with twelve different conditions; three different doses (0.01, 0.1, and 1 dpa) combined with four different temperatures (room temperature, 150, 270, and 400 °C). This was to investigate the irradiation-induced microstructural evolution of the absorber in dry storage environment in expedited manner instead of time-consuming neutron irradiation test. The effects of irradiation dose and temperature on helium bubble nucleation and growth were investigated by image analysis on BF-TEM images, which showed a typical tendency of increasing bubble size with increasing temperature at the expense of decreasing bubble number density. Helium bubble morphology at grain boundaries was quite similar with the ones reported from the previous studies on the surveillance coupons used in the wet environment, elliptic helium bubbles around B4C particles. Notable difference was the prominent formation of numerous helium bubbles even from the lowest dose (0.01 dpa) at slightly elevated temperature (150 °C), perhaps due to higher irradiation temperature than that of spent fuel pool. This study may experimentally confirm that significant bubble formation and growth in the absorber could be the case from the early stage of the dry storage, even without the participation of hydrogen produced from the absorber corrosion. Particularly in the case of non-clad Al-B4C absorber, possible B4C particle detachment may need to be concerned since the bubble coalescence was concentrated at the interface between Al alloy matrix and B4C particle which would be microcracked under neutron irradiation.

The effects of flux on the radiation-induced embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel steels: review of current understanding and application to high fluences

It is necessary to quantify the effects of flux on reactor pressure vessel steel embrittlement under neutron irradiation, if surveillance or high-flux test reactor data is used to predict vessel embrittlement occurring at lower fluxes. This is particularly important when considering embrittlement occurring during extended (60–80 years) operation for which there is no direct experience. Dedicated investigations are time-consuming and expensive even when only small flux-fluence ranges are investigated, so collating data from multiple campaigns is necessary to provide sufficient information to cover the wide range of fluxes required for vessel assessment in the long term. This paper collates and reviews such data. The review finds that flux dependences probably differ in sign and strength in different regimes (low flux and fluence, intermediate flux at low and high fluence, high flux at low and high fluence) with the regime limits affected by composition and temperature. The current understanding of diffusion processes and microstructural development are invaluable in interpreting the trends and limits. Many contradictory data sets were found, however, and not all contradictions could be dismissed as resulting from poor quality data. Suggestions are made for investigations to clarify the uncertainties. One wide-ranging model of flux effects, based on an extensive data set, is used to compare high-fluence data from different sources, to assess whether embrittlement rates accelerate after a high, threshold fluence. The model helps to identify experiments which investigated comparable flux-fluence-temperature regimes. The comparable data are split evenly between data sets supporting acceleration after a particular fluence and data sets contradicting it. The model identifies regimes in which further campaigns would clarify the causes of these contrasting observations.

Evaluation of Single Event Upset on a Relay Protection Device

Traditionally, studies have primarily focused on single event effects in aerospace electronics. However, current research has confirmed that atmospheric neutrons can also induce single event effects in China’s advanced technology relay protection devices. Spallation neutron irradiation tests on a Loongson 2K1000 system-on-chip based relay protection device have revealed soft errors, including abnormal sampling, refusal of operation and interlock in the relay protection device. Given the absence of standardized evaluation methods for single event effects on relay protection devices, the following research emphasizes the use of Monte Carlo simulation and software fault injection. Various types of single event upsets, such as single bit upsets, dual bit upsets, and even eight bit upsets, were observed in Monte Carlo simulations where atmospheric neutrons hit the chip from different directions (top and bottom). The simulation results indicated that the single event effect sensitivity of the relay protection device was similar whether the neutron hit from the top or the bottom. Through software fault injection, the study also identified soft errors caused by neutron induced single event upsets on the Loongson 2K1000 system, including failure to execute, system halt, time out, and error result. And the soft error number of system halts and error results exceeded that of time outs and failures to execute in all three tested programs. This research represents a preliminary assessment of single event effects on relay protection devices and is expected to provide valuable insights for evaluating the reliability of advanced technology relay protection devices.

Beamline and vacuum system design of HEBT for the A-FNS accelerator

The Advanced Fusion Neutron Source (A-FNS) project is progressing at the QST Rokkasho institute, Japan. The A-FNS will conduct fusion neutron irradiation tests of materials for a fusion demonstration reactor (DEMO reactor). For these tests a high intensity deuteron beam accelerator is used to produce a high neutron flux with the neutron energies around 14 MeV. The accelerator system accelerates a deuteron beam to a beam energy of 40 MeV, guides the beam towards a liquid lithium target and shapes the uniform beam at the Li target using a magnet system.Two of the main considerations for the A-FNS high energy beam transport (HEBT) design are protection of the Superconducting Radio-Frequency linear accelerator (SRF) and vacuum system design for the interface of the HEBT and the target system. For the A-FNS, back streaming of Li vapor from the windowless free surface of the Li target is a concern. In addition, widely different vacuum pressure must be maintained between the accelerator system and the target system. This paper shows the detailed design of the A-FNS HEBT section regarding these considerations.

A Terrestrial SER Estimation Methodology Based on Simulation Coupled With One-Time Neutron Irradiation Testing

A Terrestrial SER Estimation Methodology Based on Simulation Coupled With One-Time Neutron Irradiation Testing

Neutron-Irradiation Testing of FPGA-Embedded Hadron Fluence Sensors

Hadron fluence monitors based on static random access memories (SRAMs) are being used at CERN and have been proposed for proton therapy facilities. Some of the limitations of the state of the art are related to the usage of separate components for sensing upsets and for reading them out, as these increase the power consumption, the board complexity and its size. Moreover, in some cases, due to radiation-tolerance requirements, the readout logic is fixed and it cannot be updated once the system has been implemented. In this work, we show how to overcome the mentioned limitations by using an SRAM-based field programmable gate array (FPGA) for implementing both the sensitive element (the configuration SRAM) and the readout logic (the firmware in the fabric). In fact, we describe the implementation of a compact, reprogrammable, low-power, actively self-reading hadron fluence sensor realized by means of a Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA. Moreover, we present the customized radiation-hardening-by-design techniques adopted for the readout logic. We irradiated two sensor prototypes at the Jožef Stefan Institute’s TRIGA Mark II research reactor, under different neutron spectra and flux conditions. We discuss our results, which include the measurements of the radiation tolerance, the single event upset cross section of the configuration SRAM, the sensitivity to thermal neutrons, and the failure cross section of the readout logic.

Radiation effects in optical coatings for ITER diagnostics

The aim is to provide an assessment of radiation damage in coated films on refractive substrates that could be used as relevant information to protect the field lenses in optical diagnostics for ITER. Radiation-resistant optical materials with transparent properties should transfer light from plasma to detectors through the interspace until the port cell area where they are located (more than 10 m from the vacuum window). These optical coatings and substrates should have resilience enough to withstand neutron and gamma irradiation without significant degradation of their transmittance.Coated sapphire (Al2O3 windows), YAG with Broad Band Anti-Reflective (BBAR) and substrates of BaF2/CaF2 protected with anti-humidity coating (Parylene-C) were extensively tested. After testing, transmission measurements and analysis of optical surfaces yield significant discoveries. All substrates showed good refractive performance under gamma radiation. On the contrary, Parylene-C did not resist temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius as expected, according to manufacturing specifications. In addition, it was observed that with an energy dose of 332 kGy of gamma rays and a significantly lower temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, the Parylene-C protection is also damaged. Coated sapphire had the best overall performance with respect to the neutron irradiation tests. Nevertheless, the decrease in transmission observed in the YAG and BaF2 coated samples is not significant for the expected cumulative neutron dose that these samples will receive at their location within the diagnostic.This information was considered for the selection of the best candidates as refractive lenses and optical coatings for the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of ex-vessel components that will integrate the Wide-Angle Viewing System (WAVS) for ITER Equatorial Port 12.

Experiment design for the neutron irradiation of PM-HIP alloys for nuclear reactors

This article describes the design of an Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) drop-in neutron irradiation experiment aiming to directly compare the performance of nuclear structural alloys fabricated by powder metallurgy with hot isostatic pressing (PM-HIP) against conventional casting or forging. There is growing interest in PM-HIP alloys for nuclear applications because of their microstructural uniformity, superior mechanical properties, and reduced dependence on welding and machining, compared to cast/forged alloys. Nuclear code-qualification of PM-HIP alloys requires neutron irradiation testing to demonstrate performance under relevant conditions. In this experiment, six nuclear structural alloys were irradiated: Ni-based alloys 625 and 690, Grade 91 ferritic steel, SA508 pressure vessel steel, and 304L and 316L austenitic stainless steels. The experiment is assembled into seven capsules in four test trains and irradiated in three ATR inboard A positions. Both the PM-HIP and cast/forged versions of each alloy were irradiated under nearly identical conditions for comparative purposes, to target doses of 1 ± 0.2 and 3 ± 0.2 dpa at temperatures of 300 ± 50 °C and 400 ± 50 °C. A thorough description of the experiment design and thermal, structural and neutronic analyses performed to ensure the targeted irradiation conditions are met is provided. Specimens were configured as small disks, compact tension specimens and tensile bars to facilitate post-irradiation examination (PIE) that will include mechanical testing, microstructure characterization, and fracture toughness testing. Given the considerations for ASTM standardized mechanical testing, comparative fluence and temperature across specimen pairs, and comprehensive PIE planning herein, this work serves as a template for future nuclear materials qualification experiment designs.

Feasibility of double-sided silicon-photodetector-based simultaneous X-ray and neutron detecting radiation imaging module

Current combined X-ray and neutron radiation imaging equipment comprises two separate radiation generators and two imaging systems and uses a single-side silicon photodetector for radiation detection. If two radiation generators and two imaging modules are merged into one generator and one imaging system, a cost-efficient and lightweight portable multi-radiation security inspection system can be developed. This study describes the development and feasibility test of a double-sided silicon-photodetector-based X-ray and neutron simultaneous X-ray and neutron detecting radiation sensor module for an X-ray and neutron merged imaging system. The feasibility of this developed radiation sensor module was confirmed using X-ray transmission and a 14-MeV neutron irradiation test. Our results confirm the successful combination of two radiation generators and two imaging modules into one generator and one imaging system, which can help in implementing a cost-efficient and lightweight portable multi-radiation security inspection.

An improved theoretical method for determining the mean D-T neutron energies in large solid angle sample

ABSTRACT Neutron energy of deuterium-tritium (D-T) generator plays an important role for the application of nuclear energy and nuclear technology. Based on the deuterium energy losing in tritiated titanium (T-Ti) target and differential cross sections of D-T reaction, an improved theoretical formula for calculating the mean neutron energy irradiating a large solid angle sample was proposed. Besides that, the mean neutron energy was discussed under the actual experimental conditions. The results were compared to the reported ratio values of 90Zr(n,2 n)89m+gZr to 93Nb(n,2 n)92mNb reaction cross sections (‘Zr/Nb’ ratio methods) and published theoretical calculated results, respectively. The relative deviations between present work and the ‘Zr/Nb’ ratio methods are below 0.5% and a higher precision was obtained compared with previous published theoretical method. The present work lays a foundation for the application of D-T neutron source in nuclear technology such as nuclear reaction cross section measurement, calibration of neutron detector, and neutron irradiation tests, etc.

Frame-Level Intermodular Configuration Scrubbing of On-Detector FPGAs for the ARICH at Belle II

On-detector digital electronics in High-Energy Physics experiments is increasingly being implemented by means of SRAM-based FPGA, due to their capabilities of reconfiguration, real-time processing and multi-gigabit data transfer. Radiation-induced single event upsets in the configuration hinder the correct operation, since they may alter the programmed routing paths and logic functions. In most trigger and data acquisition systems, data from several front-end modules are concentrated into a single board, which then transmits data to back-end electronics for acquisition and triggering. Since the front-end modules are identical, they host identical FPGAs, which are programmed with the same bitstream. In this work, we present a novel scrubber capable of correcting radiation-induced soft-errors in the configuration of SRAM-based FPGAs by majority voting across different modules. We show an application of this system to the read-out electronics of the Aerogel Ring Imaging CHerenkov (ARICH) subdetector of the Belle2 experiment at SuperKEKB of the KEK laboratory (Tsukuba, Japan). We discuss the architecture of the system and its implementation in a Virtex-5 LX50T FPGA, in the concentrator board, for correcting the configuration of up to six Spartan-6 LX45 FPGAs, on pertaining front-end modules. We discuss results from fault-injection and neutron irradiation tests at the TRIGA reactor of the Jozef Stefan Institute (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and we compare the performance of our solution to the Xilinx Soft Error Mitigation controller.

Conceptual design of advanced fusion neutron source (A-FNS) and irradiation test modules

We have established a conceptual design of Advanced Fusion Neutron Source (A-FNS). In order to obtain irradiation data required in qualifying materials of fusion DEMO DT reactor, we newly designed nine test modules (TMs) to be implemented in the A-FNS. The design of the test modules is based on a new distinctive maintenance scheme: ‘horizontal maintenance method integrated with the shielding plug’. By integrating the TMs with the shield plug and transferring those from the test cell to the access cell, we can avoid disconnecting and connecting the huge amounts of the pipes and cables by means of the remote handling inside the test cell. We determined a configuration of the TMs in the test cell so as to achieve the required irradiation data for each of the test modules. The maximum dpa of F82H specimens in the TM for blanket structural material was about 10 dpa/fpy, which was designed to fulfil critical requirement by accumulated irradiation for two years and operation duration for four years with the operation availability of 50%. A-FNS was designed so that the huge amounts of neutrons generated can be utilized for various non-fusion purposes as well as the fusion materials irradiation. We newly designed a module to produce the significant amount of 99Mo for a medical purpose. The module for such a non-fusion purpose can be installed in the test cell with the compatibility of the fusion materials irradiation tests.

Investigation of the Impact of Neutron Irradiation on SiC Power MOSFETs Lifetime by Reliability Tests

High temperature reverse-bias (HTRB), High temperature gate-bias (HTGB) tests and electrical DC characterization were performed on planar-SiC power MOSFETs which survived to accelerated neutron irradiation tests carried out at ChipIr-ISIS (Didcot, UK) facility, with terrestrial neutrons. The neutron test campaigns on the SiC power MOSFETs (manufactered by ST) were conducted on the same wafer lot devices by STMicroelectronics and Airbus, with different neutron tester systems. HTGB and HTRB tests, which characterise gate-oxide integrity and junction robustness, show no difference between the non irradiated devices and those which survived to the neutron irradiation tests, with neutron fluence up to 10 (n/cm). Electrical characterization performed pre and post-irradiation on different part number of power devices (Si, SiC MOSFETs and IGBTs) which survived to neutron irradiation tests does not show alteration of the data-sheet electrical parameters due to neutron interaction with the device.

Analyzing DUE Errors on GPUs With Neutron Irradiation Test and Fault Injection to Control Flow

As GPU applications expand, the reliability of GPU is drawing more attention since even reliability-demanding applications are executed on GPUs. Silent data corruption (SDC) is widely studied both in irradiation experiments and fault injection experiments. On the other hand, detectable uncorrected error (DUE) is not well studied. This work focuses on DUEs reported by the GPU driver and analyzes those observed in fault injection and neutron irradiation experiments, where faults are injected in the control flow to change the program counter value unexpectedly. The DUE errors of GPU engine exception, GPU memory page fault, and GPU processing stop are observed in both the experiments. On the other hand, the DUE error categorized as internal microcontroller halt by the GPU driver, which is not found in the fault injection experiment, is observed frequently, suggesting the necessity of investigating the failures originating from the faults in the components invisible to programmers.

A Preliminary Work on the Preparation for Neutron Irradiation of Advanced Fusion Materials Using Small Samples in China

A variety of new materials have been developed during the past two decades in China to support the design and construction of key components for next step fusion devices. Most recently, a domestic project, promoted by the engineering design of China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), has been launched to preliminarily investigate the performance of advanced fusion materials after neutron irradiation. The goal of this paper is to introduce the preparation for the coming neutron irradiation campaign. The development status and acceptance of some outstanding fusion materials are briefly reviewed with the main description focusing on some high-performance 9Cr-ODS steels, Cu–0.3Al2O3 alloys, W-K and W-ZrC alloys for blanket/divertor components. The principles for screening suitable materials out from several candidates are suggested, which consider low activation, sufficient production scale, homogeneous microstructures, safety margin and repeatability of basic properties as the basic requirements. As a recommended approach for neutron irradiation tests, the small sample testing technology (SSTT) is highlighted in this paper. Further development of SSTT using inverse finite element method (FEM) and energy equivalent principle is performed for new designs of small tensile samples.

Irradiation stability and thermomechanical properties of 3D-printed SiC

Neutron irradiation tests were carried out on 3D-printed SiC derived from binderjet additive manufacturing and chemical vapor infiltration. Irradiation was carried to 2.3 dpa over a temperature range of 400–850 °C. Anisotropy that had been observed in the thermal conductivity of 3D-printed SiC prior to irradiation vanished after irradiation as the irradiation defect thermal resistivity accumulated in the material. No degradation in strength was observed in the material before or after irradiation, at various temperatures, or in different orientations. Electron microscopy of the microstructure after neutron irradiation showed distinct defect morphologies in the heterogenous material, but no evidence for irradiation-induced cracking or degradation in the microstructure was observed.

Conceptual design of DEMO blanket materials test modules for A-FNS

• A-FNS is a fusion-like neutron source for irradiation of fusion reactor materials. • We established conceptual designs of 3 test modules for DEMO blanket materials. • 1-BFMTM: Irradiation data for blanket functional materials are obtained. • 2-TRTM: In-situ tritium recovery properties for the materials are evaluated. • 3-ACPM: ACPs are evaluated under the fusion-like neutron irradiation. A conceptual design of A dvanced F usion N eutron S ource, A-FNS, has been conducted to achieve early realization of fusion-like neutron irradiation test for fusion reactor materials in Japan. A-FNS provides eight test modules to obtain irradiation data for fusion reactor materials. Conceptual design activities on Blanket Functional Materials Test Module (BFMTM), Tritium Release Test Module (TRTM) and Activated Corrosion Products Module (ACPM) were described among the A-FNS test modules. Also, basic concepts of the sub-system cells for the TRTM and the ACPM were also discussed.

Development of a neutron imaging sensor using INTPIX4-SOI pixelated silicon devices

We have developed a neutron imaging sensor based on an INTPIX4-SOI pixelated silicon device. Neutron irradiation tests are performed at several neutron facilities to investigate sensor’s responses for neutrons. Detection efficiency is measured to be around 1.5% for thermal neutrons. Upper bound of spatial resolution is evaluated to be 4.1±0.2μm in terms of a standard deviation of the line spread function.