Measurement of the ²³⁵U fission cross section relative to the standard ¹⁰B(n, 𝛼) reaction at the CERN n_TOF facility: Results for Eₙ < 2 eV

Abstract

The neutron induced fission of ²³⁵U is a very important reaction for nuclear technology applications and for the design of future systems to produce clean and safe energy. In addition, it is used as a reference reaction for neutron cross-section measurements, thus, its cross section is needed with a high accuracy over a wide energy range. In this work, the measurement for the ²³⁵U(n,f) reaction was carried out at the n_TOF facility located at CERN, at experimental area EAR-2. The standard ¹⁰B(n, α) reaction was used as reference, while a setup based on the gaseous Micromegas detectors was implemented for the detection of the fission fragments and α and ⁷Li-particles of the two reactions, respectively. In order to determine the thickness of the ¹⁰B sample NRA measurements were carried out at the National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”.