Thermal to GeV neutron spectrometry of the INES beam line at ISIS using the CYSP-BEAM spectrometer

¹ INFN- LNF - Via E. Fermi n. 40, I-00044 Frascati (Roma), Italy
² CIEMAT - Av. Complutense 40, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
³ Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (ISIS Facility) Chilton Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, UK
⁴ INFN, Sezione di Torino - Via P. Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, Italy
⁵ Università di Torino - Via P. Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, Italy
⁶ ENEA C.R. Frascati, Department of Fusion and Nuclear Safety and Security - Via Enrico Fermi 45, I-00044, Frascati (Roma), Italy

^(a) roberto.bedogni@lnf.infn.it (corresponding author)

Received: 3 April 2019
Accepted: 2 July 2019

Abstract

The neutron energy distribution of the INES beam line, extending from thermal up to nearly 800 MeV, was measured by means of the CYSP-BEAM broad energy range spectrometer. The latter is an innovative type of moderator-based directional neutron spectrometer, based on multiple thermal neutron detectors embedded in a collimated cylindrical structure. Its operation principle is the same as the Bonner sphere spectrometer (BSS), but only one exposure is needed to simultaneously determine all energy components. This paper describes the performance of the spectrometer, from the response of the internal thermal neutron detectors to the spectrum unfolding. This paper opens the way for a new generation of real-time spectrometric devices for quality assurance of neutron beamlines.