Measurement of the ²³⁵U(n,f) cross section relative to the ¹⁰B(n,α) reaction with Micromegas detectors at the CERN n_TOF facility: First results

Abstract

Neutron cross section measurements are often made relative to a neutron cross section standard. Thus, the accuracy of the neutron standards determines the best possible accuracy of the neutron measurements. The ²³⁵U(n,f) cross section is widely used as reference, while it is considered a standard at thermal point and between 0.15 to 200 MeV. For this reason, additional cross section data for the ²³⁵U(n,f) reaction are useful in order to improve the accuracy and to extend the energy range of the standard. In this work, preliminary results of the measurement of the ²³⁵U(n,f) cross-section relative to the standard ¹⁰B(n,a) reaction are presented. The high accuracy measurement was performed at the experimental area EAR-1 of the n_TOF facility at CERN, aiming at covering the energy range from the thermal region up to approximately 100 keV. The samples were produced at JRC-Geel in Belgium, while the experimental setup was based on Micromegas detectors.