Development of a <sup>3</sup>He Gas Filling Station at the China Spallation Neutron Source
Zecong Qin, Chuyi Huang, Zachary Buck, Wolfgang Kreuzpaintner, S. M. Amir, Abdelrahman M. Salman, Fan Ye, Junpei Zhang, Chenyang Jiang, Tianhao Wang, Xin Tong
Abstract
At the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), we have developed a custom gas-filling station, a glassblowing workshop, and a spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) system for producing high-quality 3 He-based neutron spin filter (NSF) cells. The gas-filling station is capable of routinely filling 3 He cells made from GE180 glass of various dimensions, to be used as neutron polarizers and analyzers on beamlines at the CSNS. Performance tests on cells fabricated at our gas-filling station are conducted via neutron transmission and nuclear-magnetic-resonance measurements, revealing nominal filling pressures, and a saturated 3 He polarization in the region of 80%, with a lifetime of approximately 240 hours. These results demonstrate our ability to produce competitive NSF cells to meet the ever-increasing research needs of the polarized neutron research community.