Absolute calibration of the JT-60U neutron monitors using a 252Cf neutron sourcea)

Abstract

Absolutely calibrated measurements of the neutron yield are important for the evaluation of plasma performance such as the fusion gain Q in D–D operating tokamaks. The time-resolved neutron yield is measured with 235U and 238U fission chambers and 3He proportional counters in the JT-60U tokamak. The in situ calibration was performed by moving the 252Cf neutron source toroidally through the JT-60 vacuum vessel. Detection efficiencies of three 235U and two 3He detectors were measured for 92 locations of the neutron point source in toroidal scans at two different major radii. The total detection efficiency for the torus neutron source was obtained by averaging the point efficiencies over the whole toroidal angle. The uncertainty of the resulting detection efficiency for the plasma neutrons is estimated to be ±11%.