Shielding Design for the South Pole nToF Diagnostic at the NIF

Abstract

Neutron time of flight (nToF) detectors are fielded at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to measure neutron yield, ion temperature, and downscattering in the cold fuel for D-T implosions. Anisotropically assembled cold fuel may generate different nToF data when measured by detectors located at the Target Chamber equator and poles. A collimated nToF line of sight has been fielded near the Target Chamber South Pole (SP) to examine any possible anisotropy in the cold fuel. The SP nToF detector is located in the lowest floor level of the NIF’s Target Bay and at a distance of ~ 18 m from the Target Chamber Center. The detector utilizes a solid bibenzyl scintillator and four photomultiplier tubes. The line of sight includes a port collimator that is attached to the Target Chamber and a bore hole collimator in the concrete floor above the detector. In addition, a beam line get lost hole is constructed in the Target Bay floor to minimize the backscattered radiation at the detector location. Initial measurements indicated the need for installation of additional shielding to eliminate gamma background during the period before arrival of the 14.1 MeV neutrons to the detector. A set of MCNP Monte Carlo simulations with the full Target Bay model were conducted to provide an estimate of the expected neutron and gamma backgrounds during D-T shots. A new shielding scheme is designed to reduce the gamma background by an order of magnitude.