Speaker
Description
Neutron inelastic scattering cross-section data are limited for many isotopes, necessitating new and/or more accurate measurements to improve the data for radiation transport modeling and simulations for a wide variety of power, defense, and nonproliferation applications. The newly commissioned Gamma Energy Neutron Energy Spectrometer for Inelastic Scattering (GENESIS) capability at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) was developed to address a variety of nuclear data needs, allowing for the correlated measurement of secondary neutron and gamma-ray production as a function of energy and angle. GENESIS currently consists of two Eurosys CLOVER HPGe detectors, several ORTEC PopTop single-crystal HPGe detectors, and a LaBr inorganic scintillator to measure gamma rays from the excited states of the target nuclei and 27 EJ-309 detectors to measure the corresponding scattered neutrons. In addition to the recent initial measurements of $^{56}$Fe and $^{235}$U, Al$_2$O$_3$ was the first low-Z target used in GENESIS to measure the neutron inelastic scattering cross sections of $^{16}$O and $^{27}$Al. An intense, time-resolved, white neutron source was produced using the breakup of a 14 MeV deuteron beam on a thick carbon target. The neutron beam was collimated and incident on a 60$\times$60$\times$0.5~mm, 7.02~g, 99.6\% pure Al$_2$O$_3$ target. The neutron time of flight method was used to determine the incident neutron energy. This presentation discusses the experimental development, implementation of the Geant4-based GENESIS model, data analysis, and preliminary results of the $^{16}$O and $^{27}$Al experiments.
