Measurements of Neutron Fields in a Wide Energy Range Using Multi-Foil Activation Analysis
D. Chiesa, Carlo Cazzaniga, M. Nastasi, M. Rebaı̈, Christopher Frost, G. Gorini, S. Lilley, S. Pozzi, E. Previtali
Abstract
An accurate characterization of the neutron fields at spallation sources is crucial for many applications based on neutron irradiations, such as radiation damage tests that need a precise dose estimate. In this work, we present the neutron flux measurements performed with the multi-foil activation technique in the ROTAX and ChipIr beamlines of the ISIS spallation source, characterized by moderated and unmoderated spectra, respectively. We selected many different activation reactions to cover a wide energy range, from thermal to very fast neutrons up to about 100 MeV. By applying a Bayesian unfolding algorithm, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique in measuring the neutron flux intensity and energy spectrum with precision and accuracy.