SPIRAL2 Project Research Articles

Preliminary results of BETSI test bench upgrade at CEA-Saclay.

The Banc d'Etude et de Tests des Sources d'Ions (BETSI) test bench was built in 2009 for the Spiral2 project. Year after year, upgrades were done on the low energy beam line in order to have a complete injector equipped with 2 solenoids and vacuum chambers with multiple viewports for various kinds of beam-diagnostics. BETSI was designed for a 50 kV high voltage, and all the sources that were installed on the platform were also designed for that voltage. As the advanced light ion source extraction system ions source family is getting larger, the design is made for higher extraction voltages. As the common extraction voltage is 100 kV, the BETSI platform was upgraded to this voltage value. The control-command was upgraded, and at this voltage, a great care on the electromagnetic protections was taken in order to protect the equipment when spark occurs. This paper describes the choice of the upgrade, its installation, and some performances already obtained with a permanent magnet ion source equipped with a large accelerating tube.

Theoretical study on production of heavy neutron-rich isotopes around the N = 126 shell closure in radioactive beam induced transfer reactions

In order to produce more unknown neutron-rich nuclei around N=126, the transfer reactions 136Xe + 198Pt, 136–144Xe + 208Pb, and 132Sn + 208Pb are investigated within the framework of the dinuclear system (DNS) model. The influence of neutron excess of projectile on production cross sections of target-like products is studied through the reactions 136,144Xe + 208Pb. We find that the radioactive projectile 144Xe with much larger neutron excess is favorable to produce neutron-rich nuclei with charge number less than the target rather than produce transtarget nuclei. The incident energy dependence of yield distributions of fragments in the reaction 132Sn + 208Pb are also studied. The production cross sections of neutron-rich nuclei with Z=72–77 are predicted in the reactions 136–144Xe + 208Pb and 132Sn + 208Pb. It is noticed that the production cross sections of unknown neutron-rich nuclei in the reaction 144Xe + 208Pb are at least two orders of magnitude larger than those in the reaction 136Xe + 208Pb. The radioactive beam induced transfer reactions 139,144Xe + 208Pb, considering beam intensities proposed in SPIRAL2 (Production System of Radioactive Ion and Acceleration On-Line) project as well, for production of neutron-rich nuclei around the N=126 shell closure are investigated for the first time. It is found that, in comparison to the stable beam 136Xe, the radioactive beam 144Xe shows great advantages for producing neutron-rich nuclei with N=126 and the advantages get more obvious for producing nuclei with less charge number.

The Super Separator Spectrometer [formula omitted] and the associated detection systems: SIRIUS & LEB-REGLIS3

The Super Separator Spectrometer (S3) facility is developed in the framework of the SPIRAL2 project [1]. S3 has been designed to extend the capability of the facility to perform experiments with extremely low cross sections, taking advantage of the very high intensity stable beams of the superconducting linear accelerator of SPIRAL2. It will mainly use fusion-evaporation reactions to reach extreme regions of the nuclear chart: new opportunities will be opened for super-heavy element studies and spectroscopy at and beyond the driplines. In addition to our previous article (Déchery et al. [2]) introducing the optical layout of the spectrometer and the expected performances, this article will present the current status of the main elements of the facility: the target station, the superconducting multipole, and the magnetic and electric dipoles, with a special emphasis on the status of the detection system SIRIUS and on the low-energy branch which includes the REGLIS3 system. S3 will also be a source of low energy radioactive isotopes for delivery to the DESIR facility.

High intensity targets stations for S3

In the framework of the SPIRAL2 project at GANIL, the Super-Separator-Spectrometer (S3) is dedicated to experiments using the very high intensity stable beams (>10 pµA) delivered by the superconducting linear accelerator up to 14.5 A.MeV. Specific target stations are required to sustain these unprecedented beam intensities. A prototype target station for actinides was designed and manufactured, which main characteristics are described in this paper. In order to commission this system and check the behavior of target materials, preliminary tests with 7.7 A.MeV 129Xe beams were performed at 100 pnA. The results of these tests are presented here.

Measurement of the response time of the delay window for the neutron converter of the SPIRAL2 project

Research and development of a safety system for the SPIRAL2 facility has been conceived to protect the UCx target from a possible interaction with the 200kW deuteron beam. The system called “delay window” (DW) is designed as an integral part of the neutron converter module and is located in between the neutron converter and the fission target. The device has been designed as a barrier, located directly behind the neutron converter on the axis of the deuteron beam, with the purpose of “delaying” the eventual interaction of the deuteron beam with the UCx target in case of a failure of the neutron converter. The “delay” must be long enough to allow the interlock to react and safely stop the beam operation, before the beam will reach the UCx target. The working concept of the DW is based on the principle of the electrical fuse. Electrically insulated wires placed on the surface of a Tantalum disk assure a so called “free contact”, normally closed to an electronic circuit located on the HV platform, far from the radioactive environment. The melting temperature of the wires is much less than Tantalum. Once the beam is impinging on the disk, one or more wires are melted and the “free contact” is open. A solid state relay is changing its state and a signal is sent to the interlock device. A prototype of the DW has been constructed and tested with an electron beam of power density equivalent to the SPIRAL2 beam. The measured “delay” is 682.5ms (σ=116ms), that is rather long in comparison to the intrinsic delays introduced by the detectors itself (2ms) and by the associated electronic devices (120ns). The experimental results confirm that, in the case of a failure of the neutron converter, the DW as conceived is enable to withstand the beam power for a period of time sufficiently long to safely shut down the SPIRAL2 accelerator.

FALSTAFF: a novel apparatus for fission fragment characterization

The study of nuclear fission and in particular the correlation between the produced fragments and the associated neutrons is encountering renewed interest since new models are available on the market and a large set of applications show a rather stringent demand on high quality nuclear data. The future Neutrons For Science installation, being presently built at GANIL (Caen, France) in the framework of the SPIRAL2 project, will produce high intensity neutron beams from hundreds of keV up to 40 MeV. In view of this opportunity, the development of an experimental setup called FALSTAFF (Four Arm cLover for the Study of Actinide Fission Fragments) has been undertaken since 2011. This novel apparatus is meant to provide a full characterization of fission fragments in terms of mass, nuclear charge and kinetic energy. Moreover, it will provide a measurement of the mass before and after neutron evaporation, leading to the determination of the neutron multiplicity as a function of the fragmentation. The FALSTAFF setup is presently in its R&D phase in order to achieve the required specifications, especially in terms of time, space and energy resolution of the different detectors.

Development of target ion source systems for radioactive beams at GANIL

The GANIL facility (Caen, France) is dedicated to the acceleration of heavy ion beams including radioactive beams produced by the Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) method at the SPIRAL1 facility. To extend the range of radioactive ion beams available at GANIL, using the ISOL method two projects are underway: SPIRAL1 upgrade and the construction of SPIRAL2. For SPIRAL1, a new target ion source system (TISS) using the VADIS FEBIAD ion source coupled to the SPIRAL1 carbon target will be tested on-line by the end of 2013 and installed in the cave of SPIRAL1 for operation in 2015. The SPIRAL2 project is under construction and is being design for using different production methods as fission, fusion or spallation reactions to cover a large area of the chart of nuclei. It will produce among others neutron rich beams obtained by the fission of uranium induced by fast neutrons. The production target made from uranium carbide and heated at 2000°C will be associated with several types of ion sources. Developments currently in progress at GANIL for each of these projects are presented.

The radioactive beam facility ALTO

The Transnational Access facility ALTO (TNA07-ENSAR/FP7) has been commissioned and received from the French safety authorities, the operation license. It is allowed to run at nominal intensity to produce 1011fissions/s in a thick uranium carbide target by photo-fission using a 10μA, 50MeV electron beam. In addition the recent success in operating the selective laser ion source broadens the physics program with neutron-rich nuclear beams possible at this facility installed at IPN Orsay. The facility also aims at being a test bench for the SPIRAL2 project. In that framework an ambitious R&D program on the target ion source system is being developed.

Status of GISELE: a resonant ionization laser ion source for the production of radioactive ions at GANIL

Laser ion sources are in use extensively to ionize the nuclear reaction products at many on-line radioactive ion beam facilities. They have proven to be reliable and to combine good production efficiencies with chemical selectivity. A Laser ion source is currently under development for the SPIRAL2 project at GANIL. A status update of this project called GISELE is presented.

An off-line method to characterize the fission product release from uranium carbide-target prototypes developed for SPIRAL2 project

In the context of radioactive ion beams, fission targets, often based on uranium compounds, have been used for more than 50years at isotope separator on line facilities. The development of several projects of second generation facilities aiming at intensities two or three orders of magnitude higher than today puts an emphasis on the properties of the uranium fission targets. A study, driven by Institut de Physique Nucléaire d’Orsay (IPNO), has been started within the SPIRAL2 project to try and fully understand the behavior of these targets. In this paper, we have focused on five uranium carbide based targets. We present an off-line method to characterize their fission product release and the results are examined in conjunction with physical characteristics of each material such as the microstructure, the porosity and the chemical composition.

A safety device for the neutron converter of the SPIRAL2 project

A safety device for the SPIRAL2 neutron converter has been developed to protect the UCx fission target from the possible interaction with the 200kW primary deuteron beam.The system consists of a special device called Delay Window, (DW), which is designed as an integral part of the cooling panels of the neutron converter module. The DW is located between the neutron converter and the fission target. In case of neutron converter failure, this device will absorb the beam and will delay its impact on the UCx target; this delayed time is longer than the interlocks activation time, hence the primary beam operation is safely stopped. The working principle of the DW is based on the well known liquid lead technology. The conceptual design of the Delay Window is presented, as well as the results of the thermo-mechanical simulations and the tests of the prototype. Calculations are done for beam powers of 50 and 200kW. Simulations are performed with ANSYS code.

Status of the ion sources developments for the Spiral2 project at GANIL

The SPIRAL 2 facility is now under construction and will deliver either stable or radioactive ion beams. First tests of nickel beam production have been performed at GANIL with a new version of the large capacity oven, and a calcium beam has been produced on the heavy ion low energy beam transport line of SPIRAL 2, installed at LPSC Grenoble. For the production of radioactive beams, several target∕ion-source systems (TISSs) are under development at GANIL as the 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source, the surface ionization source, and the oven prototype for heating the uranium carbide target up to 2000 °C. The existing test bench has been upgraded for these developments and a new one, dedicated for the validation of the TISS before mounting in the production module, is under design. Results and current status of these activities are presented.

The SPIRAL2 Project and experiments with high-intensity rare isotope beams

The SPIRAL2 facility at GANIL, which entered recently in the construction phase consists of a new superconducting linear accelerator delivering high intensity, up to 40 MeV, light (proton, deuteron, 3-4He) beams as well as a large variety of 14.5 MeV/nucleon heavy-ion beams and the associated Rare Isotope Beam facility. Using a dedicated converter and the 5 mA deuteron beam, a neutron-induced fission rate is expected to approach 1014 fissions/s for high-density UCx target. The energies of accelerated RIBs will reach 5-10 MeV/nucleon for fission fragments and 20 MeV/nucleon for neutron-deficient nuclei. The physics case of SPIRAL2 is based on the use of high intensity RIBs & stable-ion beams and on possibilities to perform several experiments simultaneously. A use of these beams at a new low-energy ISOL facility (DESIR) and their acceleration to several MeV/nucleon will open new possibilities in nuclear structure physics, nuclear astrophysics and reaction dynamics studies. The high intensities (up to 1011pps) and a high cost of RIBs impose a use of the most efficient and innovative detection systems like ACTAR, FAZIA, GASPARD, HELIOS, NEDA, PARIS and a new separator/spectrometer S3.

Development and test of a cryogenic trap system dedicated to confinement of radioactive volatile isotopes in SPIRAL2 post-accelerator

Abstract A cryogenic trap system called Cryotrap has been studied and developed in the framework of nuclear safety studies for SPIRAL2 accelerator. The main objective of Cryotrap is to confine and reduce strongly the migration of radioactive volatile isotopes in beam lines. These radioactive gases are produced after interaction between a deuteron beam and a fissile target. Mainly, Cryotrap is composed by a vacuum vessel and two copper thermal screens maintained separately at two temperatures T1=80 K and T2=20 K. A Cryocooler with two stages at previous temperatures is used to remove static heat losses of the cryostat and ensure an efficient cooling of the system. Due to strong radiological constraints that surround Cryotrap, the coupling system between Cryocooler and thermal screens is based on aluminum thermo-mechanical contraction. The main objective of this original design is to limit direct human maintenance interventions and provide maximum automated operations. A preliminary prototype of Cryotrap has been developed and tested at GANIL laboratory to validate its design, and determine its thermal performance and trapping efficiency. In this paper, we will first introduce briefly SPIRAL2 project and discuss the main role of Cryotrap in nuclear safety of the accelerator. Then, we will describe the proposed conceptual design of Cryotrap and its main characteristics. After that, we will focus on test experiment and analyze experimental data. Finally, we will present preliminary results of gas trapping efficiency tests.

GANIL-SPIRAL2: a new era

GANIL presently offers unique opportunities in nuclear physics and in many other fields that arise from not only the provision of low-energy stable beams, fragmentation beams and re-accelerated radioactive species, but also from the availability of a wide range of state-of-the-art spectrometers and instrumentation. A few examples of recent highlights are presented. With the construction of SPIRAL2 over the next few years, GANIL is in a good position to retain its world-leading capability. As selected by the ESFRI committee, the next generation of ISOL facility in Europe is represented by the SPIRAL2 project to be built at GANIL (Caen, France). SPIRAL 2 is based on a high power, CW, superconducting LINAC, delivering 5 mA of deuteron beams at 40MeV (200KW) directed on a C converter+ Uranium target and producing therefore more 1013 fissions/s. The expected radioactive beams intensities in the mass range from A=60 to A=140, will surpass by two order of magnitude any existing facilities in the world. These unstable atoms will be available at energies between few KeV/n to 15 MeV/n. The same driver will accelerate high intensity (10μA to 1 mA), heavier ions (Ar up to Xe) at maximum energy of 14 MeV/n. Under the 7FP program of European Union called *Preparatory phase*, the SPIRAL2 project has been granted a budget of about 4M to build up an international consortium around this new venture. The scientific pillars of the future facility, the status of the construction of SPIRAL2 accelerator and associated physics instruments in collaboration with EU and International partners will be presented.

SPIRAL2 at GANIL: Next Generation of ISOL Facility for Intense Secondary Radioactive Ion Beams

To pursue the investigation of a new territory of nuclei with extreme N/Z called terra incognita several projects, all aiming at the increase by several orders of magnitude of the Radioactive Ion Beams (RIB) intensities are now under discussions worldwide. As selected by the ESFRI committee, the next generation of ISOL facility in Europe is represented by the SPIRAL2 Project to be built at GANIL (Caen, France). SPIRAL 2 is based on a high power, CW, superconducting driver LINAC, delivering 5 mA of deuteron beams at 40MeV (200kW) directed on a C converter+ Uranium target and producing therefore up to 5 ⋅ 10 13 fissions/s . The expected radioactive beams intensities for exotic species in the mass range from A=60 to A=140, of the order of 10 6 to 10 10pps, will surpass by two orders of magnitude any existing facilities in the world. These unstable atoms will be available at energies between few keV/n to 15 MeV/n. The same driver will accelerate high intensity (100 μA to 1 mA), heavy ions up to Ar at 14 MeV/A producing also proton rich exotic nuclei. In applied areas SPIRAL2 is considered as a powerful variable energy neutron source, a must to study the impact of nuclear fission and fusion on materials. Construction of the SPIRAL2 facility is shared by ten French laboratories and a network of international partners. Under the FP7 framework program of European Union called “Preparatory Phase” for the construction of new facilities, the SPIRAL2 project has been granted a budget of about 4Meuros to build up an international consortium around this new venture. Regarding the future physics program a call for Letter of intents has been launched in Oct 2006 and 8 large International collaborations has been built up around new instruments for SPIRAL2. The status of the construction of SPIRAL2 accelerator and technical R&D programs for physics instrumentation (detectors, spectrometers) in collaboration with EU and International partners will be presented.

The radioactive ion beam production systems for the SPIRAL2 project

The SPIRAL2 project, currently under construction at GANIL, will include an isotope separator on line based facility for the production and acceleration of radioactive ion beams. A superconducting linear accelerator will accelerate 5 mA deuterons up to 40 MeV and 1 mA heavy ions up to 14.5 MeV/u. These primary beams will be used to bombard both thick and thin targets. We are investigating three different techniques to produce the radioactive ion beams: (1) the neutron induced fission of uranium carbide, (2) the direct interaction of deuterons in a uranium carbide target, and (3) the interaction of a heavy ion beam with a target. All these production systems will be coupled to an ion source. Four kinds of ion sources are foreseen for the ionization of the radioactive atoms: an electron cyclotron resonance ion source, a surface ionization ion source, a forced electron beam induced arc discharge ion source, and a laser ion source depending on the characteristics of the desired radioactive ion beam in terms of intensity, efficiency, purity, etc. A presentation of the SPIRAL2 project and of the different production systems is given.

BETSI, a new test bench for ion sources optimization at CEA SACLAY

In the framework of several International HPPA projects (such as IFMIF, IPHI, and Spiral2) the CEA handles the design and the developments of several electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion sources. For the IFMIF EVEDA demonstrator, a 140 mA cw extracted deuteron beam will be required for high yield of neutron production. For radioactive ion production in the Spiral2 project, several milliamperes of deuterons will be delivered with a permanent magnet source. The optimization of the beam quality at the entrance of the radio frequency quadropole (RFQ) accelerator system triggered the need of a new test bench for ion source optimization and beam qualification. The BETSI ion source test bench will operate up to 50 kV and ignite cw or pulsed hydrogen plasma with a 2.45 GHz magnetron. Great care has already been taken to design electrostatic optics of the extraction system to minimize the emittance growth. Plasma diagnostics will be inserted in the source chamber and several beam diagnostics (emittance and current measurements, beam species analysis) will also be implemented on the low energy beam line transport (LEBT). These diagnostics allow the simultaneous analysis of the beam quality with the plasma parameters of the source. Regional funding request will also be needed to improve the LEBT for space charge compensation measurements. The design of the present and upgraded test bench will be reported as well as the first extracted beam analysis.

Development of a beta 0.12, 88 MHz, quarter-wave resonator and its cryomodule for the SPIRAL2 project

SPIRAL2 is a radioactive beams facility, composed of a superconducting linac driver, delivering deuterons with an energy of up to 40 MeV (5 mA) and heavy ions with an energy of 14.5 MeV/u (1 mA). This facility is now fully approved by the French government. The first prototype of beta 0.12 quarter-wave resonator has been recently fabricated by Zanon company and tested at IPN Orsay. The details on its fabrication and the results of the RF and mechanical tests at 4 K will be presented. Then, we will show the design of the cryomodule-B, dedicated to the high energy section of the linac, which is now ready to be ordered. Finally, the last studies of the R&D program, such as the last optimizations of the geometry, the new developments of the tuning system and the design of the helium vessel, are described.

Study of the N=50 shell closure close to 78Ni

The PARRNe (Production d'Atomes Radioactifs Riches en Neutrons) experimental program has been part of the recent R&D efforts for the design of the SPIRAL2 project at GANIL. The PARRNe2 set-up installed at IPNOrsay allows the use of the Tandem as a deuteron driver in order to produce mass separated fission fragment beams. The measured fission fragment yields proved to be high enough to undertake a series of beta-decay experiments dedicated at studying the structure of proton-deficient nuclei close to N=50. We report here on two such experiments, the first being dedicated at the observation of the decay of 83Ga->83Ge (Z=32, N=51), 84Ga->84Ge (Z=32, N=52) and the second of the decay of 81Zn->81Ga (Z=31, N=50) allowing for the fist time the identification of a few gamma lines with transitions in the daughter nuclei thus providing the material for a preliminary glimpse of their structure.