Table of contents

In this study, a preliminary work on the enhancement of ESR response of several arrangements of alanine and boron compounds, exposed to a thermal neutron beam, is presented using FLUKA code. A multi-layer dosimeter consist of consecutive layers of alanine and boron compounds showed that the amount of energy deposited in the alanine layers is maximized when their thickness is 5 μm and the thickness of boron compound layers are between 2 and 3 μm. Furthermore, the optimum number of ¹⁰B layers in the dosimeter was found to be 35 layers. Moreover, the alanine samples consisting of small spherical grains of boron compounds, arranged regularly in the middle plane of the dosimeters, exposed to a thermal neutron beam, were modeled. The dependence of energy deposition in the alanine material on the size of grains, and on their composition were also studied, as well.

The ATLAS (one of two general purpose detectors at the LHC) Transition Radiation Tracker (TRT) is the outermost of the three tracking subsystems of the ATLAS Inner Detector. It is a large straw-based detector and contains about 350,000 electronics channels. The performance of the TRT as tracking and particularly particle identification detector strongly depends on stability of the operation parameters with most important parameter being the gas gain which must be kept constant across the detector volume. The gas gain in the straws can vary significantly with atmospheric pressure, temperature, and gas mixture composition changes. This paper presents a concept of the gas gain stabilisation in the TRT and describes in detail the Gas Gain Stabilisation System (GGSS) integrated into the Detector Control System (DCS). Operation stability of the GGSS during Run-1 is demonstrated.

A large (240 cm × 120 cm × 0.2 cm) oil-free High Pressure Laminate (HPL), commonly referred as ``bakelite'', Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) has been developed at VECC-Kolkata using locally available P-302 OLTC grade HPL. The chamber has been operated in streamer mode using Argon, Freon(R134a) and Iso-butane in a ratio of 34:57:9 by volume. The electrodes and glue samples have been characterised by measuring their electrical parameters like bulk resistivity and surface resistivity. The performance of the chamber has been studied by measuring the efficiency, its uniformity and stability in detection of cosmic muons. Timing measurement has been performed at a central location of the chamber. The chamber showed an efficiency >95% and time resolution (σ), at the point of measurement, ∼0.83 ns at 9000 V. Details of the material characterisation, fabrication procedure and performance studies have been discussed.

Cornell's electron/positron storage ring (CESR) was modified over a series of accelerator shutdowns beginning in May 2008, which substantially improves its capability for research and development for particle accelerators. CESR's energy span from 1.8 to 5.6 GeV with both electrons and positrons makes it ideal for the study of a wide spectrum of accelerator physics issues and instrumentation related to present light sources and future lepton damping rings. Additionally a number of these are also relevant for the beam physics of proton accelerators. This paper is the third in a series of four describing the conversion of CESR to the test accelerator, CESRTA. The first two papers discuss the overall plan for the conversion of the storage ring to an instrument capable of studying advanced accelerator physics issues [1] and the details of the vacuum system upgrades [2]. This paper focusses on the necessary development of new instrumentation, situated in four dedicated experimental regions, capable of studying such phenomena as electron clouds (ECs) and methods to mitigate EC effects. The fourth paper in this series describes the vacuum system modifications of the superconducting wigglers to accommodate the diagnostic instrumentation for the study of EC behavior within wigglers. While the initial studies of CESRTA focussed on questions related to the International Linear Collider damping ring design, CESRTA is a very versatile storage ring, capable of studying a wide range of accelerator physics and instrumentation questions.

The search for the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is one of the most important quests nowadays in neutrino physics. Among the different techniques used, high pressure xenon (HPXe) gas time projection chambers (TPC) stand out because they allow to image the topology of the 0νββ event (one straggling track ending in two blobs), and use it to discriminate signal from background events. Recent results with microbulk Micromegas in Xe + trimethylamine (TMA) mixtures show high promise in terms of gain, stability of operation, and energy resolution at high pressures (up to 10 bar). The addition of TMA at levels of 1% reduces electron diffusion in up to a factor of 10 with respect pure Xe, improving the quality of the topological pattern, and therefore the discrimination capability. Moreover microbulk Micromegas have very low levels of intrinsic radioactivity. All these results show that a Micromegas-read High Pressure Xenon TPC (HPXe-TPC) can be a competitive technique in the search for 0νββ. The recently proposed PandaX-III experiment, based on these results, aims at building a large TPC of 200 kg of enriched Xe, to be located at Jinping Underground laboratory in China. In this document the main features of the experiment will be presented, with an emphasis on the design and tests of the microbulk readout, as well as the status of the project and first results of the prototyping phase.

The degradation of signal in silicon sensors is studied under conditions expected at the CERN High-Luminosity LHC. 200 μm thick n-type silicon sensors are irradiated with protons of different energies to fluences of up to 3 · 10¹⁵ neq/cm². Pulsed red laser light with a wavelength of 672 nm is used to generate electron-hole pairs in the sensors. The induced signals are used to determine the charge collection efficiencies separately for electrons and holes drifting through the sensor. The effective trapping rates are extracted by comparing the results to simulation. The electric field is simulated using Synopsys device simulation assuming two effective defects. The generation and drift of charge carriers are simulated in an independent simulation based on PixelAV. The effective trapping rates are determined from the measured charge collection efficiencies and the simulated and measured time-resolved current pulses are compared. The effective trapping rates determined for both electrons and holes are about 50% smaller than those obtained using standard extrapolations of studies at low fluences and suggest an improved tracker performance over initial expectations.

ANTS2 is a simulation and data processing package developed for position sensitive detectors with Anger camera type readout. The simulation module of ANTS2 is based on ROOT package from CERN, which is used to store the detector geometry and to perform 3D navigation. The module is capable of simulating particle sources, performing particle tracking, generating photons of primary and secondary scintillation, tracing optical photons and generating photosensor signals. The reconstruction module features several position reconstruction methods based on the statistical reconstruction algorithms (including GPU-based implementations), artificial neural networks and k-NN searches. The module can process simulated as well as imported experimental data containing photosensor signals. A custom library for B-spline parameterization of spatial response of photosensors is implemented which can be used to calculate and parameterize the spatial response of a detector. The package includes a graphical user interface with an extensive set of configuration, visualization and analysis tools. ANTS2 is being developed with the focus on the iterative (adaptive) reconstruction of the detector response using flood field irradiation data. The package is implemented in C++ programming language and it is a multiplatform, open source project.

Test beam results of a calorimetric module based on 3×3×22 cm³ PbWO₄ crystals, identical to those used in the CMS ECAL Endcaps, read out by a pair of photodetectors coupled to the two opposite sides (front and rear) of each crystal are presented. Nine crystals with different level of induced absorption, from 0 to 20 m⁻¹, have been tested using electrons in the 50–200 GeV energy range. Photomultiplier tubes have been chosen as photodetectors to allow for a precise measurement of highly damaged crystals. The information provided by this double side read-out configuration allows to correct for event-by-event fluctuations of the longitudinal development of electromagnetic showers. By strongly mitigating the effect of non-uniform light collection efficiency induced by radiation damage, the double side read-out technique significantly improves the energy resolution with respect to a single side read-out configuration. The non-linearity of the response arising in damaged crystals is also corrected by a double side read-out configuration and the response linearity of irradiated crystals is restored. In high radiation environments at future colliders, as it will be the case for detectors operating during the High Luminosity phase of the Large Hadron Collider, defects can be created inside the scintillator volume leading to a non-uniform response of the calorimetric cell. The double side read-out technique presented in this study provides a valuable way to improve the performance of calorimeters based on scintillators whose active volumes are characterized by high aspect ratio cells similar to those used in this study.

The dynamics of space-charge-dominated low energy proton beam in the presence of H₂⁺ and H₃⁺ beams has been studied in a solenoid based transport system using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation method. Multispecies envelope equation and random search technique have been used to transport and match the primary beam considering two options. The PIC simulation shows the formation of hollow distribution of H₂⁺ and H₃⁺ beams around the proton beam in the first case where the waist of the proton beam is formed in between the solenoids and it is absent in the second case where the beam size is kept large in between the solenoids. Separation of hollow distribution appears more distinct as the proton fraction is increased and is almost independent of the combination of H₂⁺ and H₃⁺ beams for a given proton fraction. This effect helps to reject the unwanted species more effectively. The evolution of rms size and emittance of the proton beam has been studied in the presence of a circular aperture using KV and Gaussian distributions for the species in both the cases.

Solid-state camera image sensors can be used to detect ionizing radiation in addition to optical photons. We describe the Distributed Electronic Cosmic-ray Observatory (DECO), an app and associated public database that enables a network of consumer devices to detect cosmic rays and other ionizing radiation. In addition to terrestrial background radiation, cosmic-ray muon candidate events are detected as long, straight tracks passing through multiple pixels. The distribution of track lengths can be related to the thickness of the active (depleted) region of the camera image sensor through the known angular distribution of muons at sea level. We use a sample of candidate muon events detected by DECO to measure the thickness of the depletion region of the camera image sensor in a particular consumer smartphone model, the HTC Wildfire S. The track length distribution is fit better by a cosmic-ray muon angular distribution than an isotropic distribution, demonstrating that DECO can detect and identify cosmic-ray muons despite a background of other particle detections. Using the cosmic-ray distribution, we measure the depletion thickness to be 26.3 ± 1.4 μm. With additional data, the same method can be applied to additional models of image sensor. Once measured, the thickness can be used to convert track length to incident polar angle on a per-event basis. Combined with a determination of the incident azimuthal angle directly from the track orientation in the sensor plane, this enables direction reconstruction of individual cosmic-ray events using a single consumer device. The results simultaneously validate the use of cell phone camera image sensors as cosmic-ray muon detectors and provide a measurement of a parameter of camera image sensor performance which is not otherwise publicly available.

In the construction of a tandem accelerator with vacuum insulation several changes were made. This allowed us to suppress the unwanted flow of charged particles in the accelerator, to improve its high-voltage stability, and to increase the proton beam current from 1.6 mA to 5 mA.

In this work we report and discuss the characterization of the secondary scintillation light emitted by low-pressure tetrafluoromethane (CF₄) during avalanche gas processes. The experimental setup consists of a Parallel Plate Avalanche Counter (PPAC) irradiated by 5.5 MeV alpha particles from a collimated 241-Am source. The PPAC is operated in CF₄ at pressures ranging from 5 to 50 torr. The electroluminescence light is readout by a VUV-sensitive Multi-Pixel Photon Counter (MPPC, Hamamatsu), placed along the PPAC axial direction. The secondary scintillation yield at different operational pressures was computed from the correlation between avalanche charge and electroluminesce light, recorded on an event-by-event basis; it was found to be in the range of 0.01–0.15 photons/electron depending on the reduced field applied between the PPAC electrodes. The role of the quencher impurities is also briefly discussed. In addition, the coincidence resolving times (CRT) for 5.5 MeV α -particles crossing the PPAC has been measured; time resolutions of 600 picosecond were achieved at different pressures.

Performing X-ray polarimetry of astrophysical sources is a topic of growing interest, with only a few flying experiments dedicated to it so far. For soft X-rays sources detection from 1 keV to a few tens of keV, the best technique certainly consists in using the photoelectric effect, which is the dominant phenomenon at those energies in gaseous detectors. One of the main issues is the gaseous detector's reliability in space and the sensitivity to sparks of their associated front-end electronics caused by cosmic rays. To overcome this limitation, we investigate the opportunity of building a new spectro-polarimeter with outer and contactless radiation hard readout electronics, placed outside the gas chamber. In order to perform this, we use a Micromegas detector with a resistive anode spread on a ceramic plate. The signal is then transmitted by capacitive coupling to the outer electronics. The readout electronics in question, inherited from Caliste-HD, consists of a fine pitch 3D detector module developed at CEA initially designed for semi-conductor applications. In this paper we present the different parts of our experimental setup as well as recent results obtained by illuminating our prototype with an ⁵⁵Fe source. In addition to the optimization of the detector's parameters, we also present the first spectrum of a soft X-ray gaseous detector with outer and contactless electronics and photo-electron tracks obtained with the detector making a step forward in the field of soft X-rays spectro-polarimeter.

The response of superheated emulsion of liquid perfluorobutane (C₄F₁₀; b.p.:  −1.7^o C) to alpha particle has been studied by performing the simulation using GEANT3.21 toolkit. The simulations have been performed to generate two different experimental situations. In one case, the alpha contamination is present only in polymer and in another case, the alpha contamination is present both in polymer and active liquid. The value of the nucleation parameter, k, for bubble nucleation induced by alpha particle in superheated emulsion detector is determined by comparing the simulated normalized count rates with the available experimental results. The results show that the nucleation parameter for alpha particle in C₄F₁₀ liquid is about 0.19. The energy and position of alpha particle are not able to change the response of the alpha particle in C₄F₁₀ liquid. The recoiling nuclei associated with the alpha decay chain are responsible for making the detector sensitive at lower threshold temperatures.

The paper presents a study performed by the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) using a high spatial and temporal resolution silicon pixelated detector named MagicPlate-512. The study focuses on the characterisation of three pencil beams from a low-dose rate, 6 TBq, cobalt-60 source, in terms of percentage depth dose, beam profiles, output factor and shutter timing. Where applicable, the findings were verified against radiochromic EBT3 film and ionization chambers. It was found that the results of the MagicPlate-512 and film agreed within 0.9 mm for penumbra and full-width at half-maximum measurements of the beam profiles, and within 0.75% for percentage depth dose study. The dose rate of the cobalt-60 source was determined to be (10.65 ± 0.03) cGy/min at 1.5 cm depth in Solid Water. A significant asymmetry of the small pencil beam profile was found, which is due to the irregular machining of the small collimator. The average source shutter speed was calculated to be 26 cm/s. The study demonstrates that the MagicPlate-512 dosimetry system, developed at CMRP, is capable of beam characterisation even in cases of very low dose rate sources.

Electron cloud related emittance dilution and instabilities of bunch trains limit the performance of high intensity circular colliders. One of the key goals of the Cornell electron-positron storage ring Test Accelerator (CesrTA) research program is to improve our understanding of how the electron cloud alters the dynamics of bunches within the train. Single bunch beam diagnotics have been developed to measure the beam spectra, vertical beam size, two important dynamical effects of beams interacting with the electron cloud, for bunch trains on a turn-by-turn basis. Experiments have been performed at CesrTA to probe the interaction of the electron cloud with stored positron bunch trains. The purpose of these experiments was to characterize the dependence of beam-electron cloud interactions on the machine parameters such as bunch spacing, vertical chromaticity, and bunch current. The beam dynamics of the stored beam, in the presence of the electron cloud, was quantified using: 1) a gated beam position monitor (BPM) and spectrum analyzer to measure the bunch-by-bunch frequency spectrum of the bunch trains; 2) an x-ray beam size monitor to record the bunch-by-bunch, turn-by-turn vertical size of each bunch within the trains. In this paper we report on the observations from these experiments and analyze the effects of the electron cloud on the stability of bunches in a train under many different operational conditions.

The performance of electromagnetic calorimeter modules made of proton-irradiated PbWO₄ crystals has been studied in beam tests. The modules, similar to those used in the Endcaps of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL), were formed from 5×5 matrices of PbWO₄ crystals, which had previously been exposed to 24 GeV protons up to integrated fluences between 2.1× 10¹³ and 1.3× 10¹⁴ cm⁻². These correspond to the predicted charged-hadron fluences in the ECAL Endcaps at pseudorapidity η = 2.6 after about 500 fb⁻¹ and 3000 fb⁻¹ respectively, corresponding to the end of the LHC and High Luminosity LHC operation periods. The irradiated crystals have a lower light transmission for wavelengths corresponding to the scintillation light, and a correspondingly reduced light output. A comparison with four crystals irradiated in situ in CMS showed no significant rate dependence of hadron-induced damage. A degradation of the energy resolution and a non-linear response to electron showers are observed in damaged crystals. Direct measurements of the light output from the crystals show the amplitude decreasing and pulse becoming faster as the fluence increases. The latter is interpreted, through comparison with simulation, as a side-effect of the degradation in light transmission. The experimental results obtained can be used to estimate the long term performance of the CMS ECAL.

The KATRIN experiment will probe the neutrino mass by measuring the β-electron energy spectrum near the endpoint of tritium β-decay. An integral energy analysis will be performed by an electro-static spectrometer (``Main Spectrometer''), an ultra-high vacuum vessel with a length of 23.2 m, a volume of 1240 m³, and a complex inner electrode system with about 120 000 individual parts. The strong magnetic field that guides the β-electrons is provided by super-conducting solenoids at both ends of the spectrometer. Its influence on turbo-molecular pumps and vacuum gauges had to be considered. A system consisting of 6 turbo-molecular pumps and 3 km of non-evaporable getter strips has been deployed and was tested during the commissioning of the spectrometer. In this paper the configuration, the commissioning with bake-out at 300 °C, and the performance of this system are presented in detail. The vacuum system has to maintain a pressure in the 10⁻¹¹ mbar range. It is demonstrated that the performance of the system is already close to these stringent functional requirements for the KATRIN experiment, which will start at the end of 2016.

A method is described which allows to deduce the dead-time of the front-end electronics of the LHCb muon detector from a series of measurements performed at different luminosities at a bunch-crossing rate of 20 MHz. The measured values of the dead-time range from ∼ 70 ns to ∼ 100 ns. These results allow to estimate the performance of the muon detector at the future bunch-crossing rate of 40 MHz and at higher luminosity.

Multi-energy imaging is useful for contrast enhancement of lesions, quantitative analysis of specific materials and material separation in the human body. Generally, dual-energy methods are applied to discriminating two materials, but this method cannot discriminate more than two materials. Photon-counting detectors provide spectral information from polyenergetic X-rays using multiple energy bins. In this work, we developed triple-energy X-ray beams using a filter with K-edge energy and applied them experimentally. The energy spectra of triple-energy X-ray beams were assessed by using a spectrometer. The designed triple-energy X-ray beams were validated by measuring quantitative evaluations with mean energy ratio (MER), contrast variation ratio (CVR) and exposure efficiency (EE). Then, triple-energy X-ray beams were used to extract density map of three materials, iodine (I), aluminum (Al) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The results of the thickness density maps obtained with the developed triple-energy X-ray beams were compared to those acquired using the photon-counting method. As a result, it was found experimentally that the proposed triple-energy X-ray beam technique can separate the three materials as well as the photon-counting method.

The identification of jets containing b hadrons is important for the physics programme of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Several algorithms to identify jets containing b hadrons are described, ranging from those based on the reconstruction of an inclusive secondary vertex or the presence of tracks with large impact parameters to combined tagging algorithms making use of multi-variate discriminants. An independent b-tagging algorithm based on the reconstruction of muons inside jets as well as the b-tagging algorithm used in the online trigger are also presented. The b-jet tagging efficiency, the c-jet tagging efficiency and the mistag rate for light flavour jets in data have been measured with a number of complementary methods. The calibration results are presented as scale factors defined as the ratio of the efficiency (or mistag rate) in data to that in simulation. In the case of b jets, where more than one calibration method exists, the results from the various analyses have been combined taking into account the statistical correlation as well as the correlation of the sources of systematic uncertainty.

Charge collection properties of particle detectors made in HV-CMOS technology were investigated before and after irradiation with reactor neutrons. Two different sensor types were designed and processed in 180 and 350 nm technology by AMS. Edge-TCT and charge collection measurements with electrons from ⁹⁰Sr source were employed. Diffusion of generated carriers from undepleted substrate contributes significantly to the charge collection before irradiation, while after irradiation the drift contribution prevails as shown by charge measurements at different shaping times. The depleted region at a given bias voltage was found to grow with irradiation in the fluence range of interest for strip detectors at the HL-LHC. This leads to large gains in the measured charge with respect to the one before irradiation. The increase of the depleted region was attributed to removal of effective acceptors. The evolution of depleted region with fluence was investigated and modeled. Initial studies show a small effect of short term annealing on charge collection.

We report on a new camera that is based on a pnCCD sensor for applications in scanning transmission electron microscopy. Emerging new microscopy techniques demand improved detectors with regards to readout rate, sensitivity and radiation hardness, especially in scanning mode. The pnCCD is a 2D imaging sensor that meets these requirements. Its intrinsic radiation hardness permits direct detection of electrons. The pnCCD is read out at a rate of 1,150 frames per second with an image area of 264 x 264 pixel. In binning or windowing modes, the readout rate is increased almost linearly, for example to 4000 frames per second at 4× binning (264 x 66 pixel). Single electrons with energies from 300 keV down to 5 keV can be distinguished due to the high sensitivity of the detector. Three applications in scanning transmission electron microscopy are highlighted to demonstrate that the pnCCD satisfies experimental requirements, especially fast recording of 2D images. In the first application, 65536 2D diffraction patterns were recorded in 70 s. STEM images corresponding to intensities of various diffraction peaks were reconstructed. For the second application, the microscope was operated in a Lorentz-like mode. Magnetic domains were imaged in an area of 256 x 256 sample points in less than 37 seconds for a total of 65536 images each with 264 x 132 pixels. Due to information provided by the two-dimensional images, not only the amplitude but also the direction of the magnetic field could be determined. In the third application, millisecond images of a semiconductor nanostructure were recorded to determine the lattice strain in the sample. A speed-up in measurement time by a factor of 200 could be achieved compared to a previously used camera system.

Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) such as the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescopes endeavor to reach the lowest possible energy threshold. In doing so the trigger system is a key element. Reducing the trigger threshold is hampered by the rapid increase of accidental triggers generated by ambient light (the so-called Night Sky Background NSB). In this paper we present a topological trigger, dubbed Topo-trigger, which rejects events on the basis of their relative orientation in the telescope cameras. We have simulated and tested the trigger selection algorithm in the MAGIC telescopes. The algorithm was tested using MonteCarlo simulations and shows a rejection of 85% of the accidental stereo triggers while preserving 99% of the gamma rays. A full implementation of this trigger system would achieve an increase in collection area between 10 and 20% at the energy threshold. The analysis energy threshold of the instrument is expected to decrease by ∼ 8%. The selection algorithm was tested on real MAGIC data taken with the current trigger configuration and no γ-like events were found to be lost.

We characterize two 40 kBq sources of electrodeposited ²²⁸Th for use in low-background experiments. The sources efficiently emanate ²²⁰Rn, a noble gas that can diffuse in a detector volume. ²²⁰Rn and its daughter isotopes produce α-, β-, and γ-radiation, which may used to calibrate a variety of detector responses and features, before decaying completely in only a few days. We perform various tests to place limits on the release of other long-lived isotopes. In particular, we find an emanation of < 0.008 atoms/min/kBq (90% CL) for ²²⁸Th and (1.53 ± 0.04) atoms/min/kBq for ²²⁴Ra. The sources lend themselves in particular to the calibration of detectors employing liquid noble elements such as argon and xenon. With the source mounted in a noble gas system, we demonstrate that filters are highly efficient in reducing the activity of these longer-lived isotopes further. We thus confirm the suitability of these sources even for use in next-generation experiments, such as XENON1T/XENONnT, LZ, and nEXO.

A medical linac is used for the cancer treatment and consists of an accelerating column, waveguide components, a magnetron, an electron-gun, a pulse modulator, and an irradiation system. The pulse modulator based on hydrogen thyratron-switched pulse-forming network is commonly used in linac. As the improvement of the high power semiconductors in switching speed, voltage rating, and current rating, an insulated gate bipolar transistor has become the more popular device used for pulsed power systems. We propose a solid-state pulse modulator to generator high voltage by multi-stacked storage-switch stages based on the Marx generator. The advantage of our modulator comes from the use of two semiconductors to control charging and discharging of the storage capacitor at each stage and it allows to generate the pulse with various amplitudes, widths, and shapes. In addition, a gate driver for two semiconductors is designed to reduce the control channels and to protect the circuits. It is developed for providing the pulsed power to a medical linac electron-gun that requires 25 kV and 1 A as the first application. In order to improve the power efficiency and achieve the compactness modulator, a capacitor charging power supply, a Marx pulse generator, and an electron-gun heater isolated transformer are constructed and integrated. This technology is also being developed to extend the high power pulsed system with > 1 MW and also other applications such as a plasma immersed ion implantation and a micro pulse electrostatic precipitator which especially require variable pulse shape and high repetition rate > 1 kHz. The paper describes the design features and the construction of this solid-state pulse modulator. Also shown are the performance results into the linac electron-gun.

An electrodynamic ion funnel has been developed for improving the sensitivity of electrospray ionization sources widely used in the mass spectrometric study of proteins and other biological macromolecules. The ion funnel consists of 52 electrodes and works under the combined influence of RF and DC voltages in the pressure range of 0.1 to 5 mbar. A novel feature of this ion funnel is the specific shape of the exit electrode that improves transmission of lower mass ions by reducing the depth of effective trapping potentials. In this paper, we report on the optimization of the ion funnel design using ion trajectory simulation software SIMION 8.0 especially in the mass range 500–5000 amu, followed by experimental observations of the ion transmission from the electrospray interface. It is seen that the electrospray-ion funnel combination greatly enhances the transmission when compared with an electrospray-skimmer interface. Ion currents > 1 nA could be obtained at the exit of the ion funnel for dilute Streptomycin Sulphate (∼ 1500 amu) solution with the ion funnel operating in the 500–900 kHz frequency range, amplitude of 70 V_p−p, under a DC gradient of about 20 Volts/cm at a background pressure of 0.3 mbar. Details of the construction of the ion funnel along with the experimental results are presented.

The CALICE Semi-Digital Hadronic Calorimeter (SDHCAL) prototype, built in 2011, was exposed to beams of hadrons, electrons and muons in two short periods in 2012 on two different beam lines of the CERN SPS. The prototype with its 48 active layers, made of Glass Resistive Plate Chambers and their embedded readout electronics, was run in triggerless and power-pulsing mode. The performance of the SDHCAL during the test beam was found to be very satisfactory with an efficiency exceeding 90% for almost all of the 48 active layers. A linear response (within ± 5%) and a good energy resolution are obtained for a large range of hadronic energies (5–80 GeV) by applying appropriate calibration coefficients to the collected data for both the Digital (Binary) and the Semi-Digital (Multi-threshold) modes of the SDHCAL prototype. The Semi-Digital mode shows better performance at energies exceeding 30 GeV.

In the last years, new and more sophisticated measurements have been at the basis of the major progress in various disciplines related to the environment, such as remote sensing and thermonuclear fusion. To maximize the effectiveness of the measurements, new data analysis techniques are required. First data processing tasks, such as filtering and fitting, are of primary importance, since they can have a strong influence on the rest of the analysis. Even if Support Vector Regression is a method devised and refined at the end of the 90s, a systematic comparison with more traditional non parametric regression methods has never been reported. In this paper, a series of systematic tests is described, which indicates how SVR is a very competitive method of non-parametric regression that can usefully complement and often outperform more consolidated approaches. The performance of Support Vector Regression as a method of filtering is investigated first, comparing it with the most popular alternative techniques. Then Support Vector Regression is applied to the problem of non-parametric regression to analyse Lidar surveys for the environments measurement of particulate matter due to wildfires. The proposed approach has given very positive results and provides new perspectives to the interpretation of the data.

The collective action of dynein, kinesin and myosin molecular motors is responsible for the intracellular active transport of cargoes, vesicles and organelles along the semi-flexible oriented filaments of the cytoskeleton. The overall mobility of the cargoes upon binding and unbinding to motor proteins can be modeled as an intermittency between Brownian diffusion in the cell cytoplasm and active ballistic excursions along actin filaments or microtubules. Such an intermittent intracellular active transport, exhibited by star-shaped gold nanoparticles (GNSs, Gold Nanostars) upon internalization in HeLa cancer cells, is investigated here by combining live-cell time-lapse confocal reflectance microscopy and the spatio-temporal correlation, in the reciprocal Fourier space, of the acquired image sequences. At first, the analytical theoretical framework for the investigation of a two-state intermittent dynamics is presented for Fourier-space Image Correlation Spectroscopy (kICS). Then simulated kICS correlation functions are employed to evaluate the influence of, and sensitivity to, all the kinetic and dynamic parameters the model involves (the transition rates between the diffusive and the active transport states, the diffusion coefficient and drift velocity of the imaged particles). The optimal procedure for the analysis of the experimental data is outlined and finally exploited to derive whole-cell maps for the parameters underlying the GNSs super-diffusive dynamics. Applied here to the GNSs subcellular trafficking, the proposed kICS analysis can be adopted for the characterization of the intracellular (super-) diffusive dynamics of any fluorescent or scattering biological macromolecule.

Thin targets have been investigated at low laser intensity in order to prepare foils for TNSA (Target Normal Sheath Acceleration) laser irradiation at high intensity. Foils were prepared with different techniques, such as deposition of metallic nanoparticles on polymeric substrates. Polymer films were covered by solutions containing nanoparticles or embedded inside or covered by nanostructures. Such advanced targets permit to enhance the laser wavelength absorbance. Thick and thin targets were irradiated using laser radiation at 10¹⁰ W/cm² intensity and prepared to be submitted to laser irradiation at higher intensity. The foils were characterized by optical measurements of absorbance and transmittance as a function of wavelength in the regions UV, VIS and IR. Laser irradiation measurements using a Nd:YAG laser simulate the prepulse of high laser intensity. Accelerated ions were measured with ion collectors using time of flight techniques. The protons and ions acceleration and their yields were measured as a function of the equivalent atomic number of the foils and of other characteristics, as it will be presented and discussed.

We consider a system of linear pde describing a cold plasma in a toroidal region in three-dimensional space. This system simulates the passage of a laser beam through the TOKAMAK, it consists of 9 equations for the electric field and the velocities of electrons and ions in a given magnetic field. Asymptotic solutions describing high-frequency Gaussian beams are constructed using the theory of Maslov complex germ in a fairly effective form. The solutions of the system are localized in the neighborhood of the beam passing through the toroidal domain (the camera). The equations for a ray take into account the density of particles in the camera and don't ``feel'' the presence of the magnetic field because of the high frequency of the Gaussian beam; the dependence on the magnetic field is contained in the amplitude of the electric field. Before the TOKAMAK camera the amplitude of the Gaussian beam is the same as in free space, but after the camera the amplitude vector rotates under the influence of the magnetic field. The formula for the angle of rotation is given explicitly. An analytical-numerical algorithm based on the asymptotic solutions is used to analyze the parameters of the magnetic field in the TOKAMAK.

Based on conventional S-20 processes, a new series of high quantum efficiency (QE) photocathodes has been developed that can be specifically tuned for use in the ultraviolet, blue or green regions of the spectrum. The QE values exceed 30% at maximum response, and the dark count rate is found to be as low as 30 Hz/cm² at room temperature. This combination of properties along with a fast temporal response makes these photocathodes ideal for application in photon counting detectors, which is demonstrated with an MCP photomultiplier tube for single and multi-photoelectron detection.

The PANDA experiment at the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) requires excellent particle identification. Two different DIRC detectors will utilize internally reflected Cherenkov light of charged particles to enable the separation of pions and kaons up to momenta of 4 GeV/c. The Endcap Disc DIRC will be placed in the forward endcap of PANDA's central spectrometer covering polar angles between 5° and 22°. Its final design is based on MCP-PMTs for the photon detection and an optical system made of fused silica. A new prototype has been investigated during a test beam at CERN in May 2015 and first results will be presented. In addition a new synthetic fused silica material by Nikon has been tested and was found to be radiation hard.

Polymeric materials, both pure and containing nanostructures, can be prepared as thin sheets in order to produce joints with an interface between an optically transparent sheet and an optically absorbent substrate to be welded by infrared pulsed laser irradiation. The Laser Transmission Welding (LTW) technique has been successfully applied in order to join two or more thermoplastic polymeric sheets that must have a similar chemical composition. In this research work, polymeric joints of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene sheets were realized, characterized and welded. Some polymer sheets were doped, at different concentrations, with carbon nano-particles absorbent the laser radiation. A pulsed laser operating in the wavelength region 532 nm with intensity of the order of 10⁹ Watt/cm² was employed to be transmitted by the transparent polymer and to be absorbed by the carbon enriched surface. At the interface of the two polymers the released energy induces melting, that is assisted by pressure, producing a fast and resistant welding zone. Mechanical and optical characterizations and surface analyses are presented and discussed.

The TORCH detector is being developed for low-momentum particle identification, combining time-of-flight and Cherenkov techniques to achieve charged particle pi/K/p separation up to 10 GeV/c over a flight distance of 10m. This requires a timing resolution of 70 ps for single photons. Based on an existing scalable design, production and testing of a TORCH readout system has been undertaken over the past year, and a novel customized Micro Channel Plate (MCP) photomultiplier device with 128-channels has been instrumented. This paper will report on the development of the readout system which is being used to measure time-of-flight in a test-beam, and its performance. We will also discuss the communication and data alignment between the TORCH system and the TimePix3 telescope in order to provide track reconstruction.

This paper presents the research activity on Ion Beam Analysis methods performed at Tandetron Laboratory (LT) of the Institute of Nuclear Physics AS CR, Rez, Czech Republic. Recently, many groups are paying attention to implantation by laser generated plasma. This process allows to insert a controllable amount of energetic ions into the surface layers of different materials modifying the physical and chemical properties of the surface material. Different substrates are implanted by accelerated ions from plasma through terawatt iodine laser, at nominal intensity of 10¹⁵ W/cm², at the PALS Research Infrastructure AS CR, in the Czech Republic. This regime of the laser matter interaction generates, multi-MeV proton beams, and multi-charged ions that are tightly confined in time (hundreds ps) and space (source radius of a few microns). These ion beams have a much lower transverse temperature, a much shorter duration and a much higher current than those obtainable from conventional accelerators. The implementation of protons and ions acceleration driven by ultra-short high intensity lasers is exhibited by adopting suitable irradiation conditions as well as tailored targets. An overview of implanted targets and their morphological and structural characterizations is presented and discussed.

Measurement of the Electron Cyclotron Emission (ECE) spectrum is one of the most popular electron temperature diagnostics in nuclear fusion plasma research. A 2-dimensional ECE imaging system was developed with an adaptive-array approach. A radio-frequency (RF) heterodyne detection system with Software Defined Radio (SDR) devices and a phased-array receiver antenna was used to measure the phase and amplitude of the ECE wave. The SDR heterodyne system could continuously measure the phase and amplitude with sufficient accuracy and time resolution while the previous digitizer system could only acquire data at specific times. Robust streaming phase measurements for adaptive-arrayed continuous ECE diagnostics were demonstrated using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis with the SDR system. The emission field pattern was reconstructed using adaptive-array analysis. The reconstructed profiles were discussed using profiles calculated from coherent single-frequency radiation from the phase array antenna.

Laser-driven generation of high-energy ion beams has recently attracted considerable interest due to a variety of potential applications including proton radiography, ICF fast ignition, nuclear physics or hadron therapy. The ion beam parameters depend on both laser pulse and target parameters, and in order to produce the ion beam of properties required for a particular application the laser and target parameters must be carefully selected, and the mechanism of the ion beam generation should be well understood and controlled. Convenient and commonly used tools for studies of the ion acceleration process are particle-in-cell (PIC) codes. Using two-dimensional PIC simulations, the properties of a proton beam generated from a thin erbium hydride (ErH₃) target irradiated by a 25fs laser pulse of linear or circular polarization and of intensity ranging from 10²⁰ to 10²¹ W/cm² are investigated and compared with the features of a proton beam produced from a hydrocarbon (CH) target. It has been found that using erbium hydride targets instead of hydrocarbon ones creates an opportunity to generate more compact proton beams of higher mean energy, intensity and of better collimation. This is especially true for the linear polarization of the laser beam, for which the mean proton energy, the amount of high energy protons and the intensity of the proton beam generated from the hydride target is by an order of magnitude higher than for the hydrocarbon target. For the circular polarization, the proton beam parameters are lower than those for the linear one, and the effect of target composition on the acceleration process is weaker.

Thin foils were irradiated by short pulsed lasers at intensities of 10¹⁶⁻¹⁹W/cm² in order to produce non-equilibrium plasmas and ion acceleration from the target-normal-sheath-acceleration (TNSA) regime. Ion acceleration in forward direction was measured by SiC detectors and ion collectors used in the time-of-flight configuration. Laser irradiations were employed using p-polarized light at different incidence angles with respect to the target surface and at different focal distances from the target surface. Measurements demonstrate that resonant absorption effects, due to the plasma wave excitations, enhance the plasma temperature and the ion acceleration with respect to those performed without to use of p-polarized light. Dependences of the ion flux characteristics on the laser energy, wavelength, focal distance and incidence angle will be reported and discussed.

The development of novel compact PET radionuclide production systems is of great interest to promote the diffusion of PET diagnostics, especially in view of the continuous development of novel, fast and efficient, radiopharmaceutical methods of labeling. We studied the feasibility to produce clinically-relevant amounts of PET isotopes by means of laser-accelerated proton sources expected at the ELI-Beamlines facility where a PW, 30 fs, 10 Hz laser system will be available. The production yields of several positron emitters were calculated through the TALYS software, by taking into account three possible scenarios of broad proton spectra expected, with maximum energies ranging from about 8 MeV to 100 MeV. With the hypothesized proton fluencies, clinically-relevant amounts of radionuclides can be obtained, suitable to prepare single doses of radiopharmaceuticals exploiting modern fast and efficient labeling systems.

The spectrum of the accelerated ions at the laser ABC of ENEA research institute, detected by time of flight measurements, is correlated to the onset of parametric instabilities, evidenced by optical diagnostics. In fact, the emission of the laser harmonics, 2ω and 3/2ω, in the visible spectrum manifests the existence, inside the inhomogeneous plasma, of regions in which electron plasma waves can be generated. These waves are the tool for the production of a supra-thermal electron population, responsible for the creation of an electric potential at the plasma sheath, which drives the ion acceleration.

Three dimensional (3D) characterization of shales has recently attracted wide attentions in relation to the growing importance of shale oil and gas. Obtaining a complete 3D compositional distribution of shale has proven to be challenging due to its multi-scale characteristics. A combined multi-energy X-ray micro-CT technique and data-constrained modelling (DCM) approach has been used to quantitatively investigate the multi-scale mineral and porosity distributions of a heterogeneous shale from the Junger Basin, northwestern China by sub-sampling. The 3D sub-resolution structures of minerals and pores in the samples are quantitatively obtained as the partial volume fraction distributions, with colours representing compositions. The shale sub-samples from two areas have different physical structures for minerals and pores, with the dominant minerals being feldspar and dolomite, respectively. Significant heterogeneities have been observed in the analysis. The sub-voxel sized pores form large interconnected clusters with fractal structures. The fractal dimensions of the largest clusters for both sub-samples were quantitatively calculated and found to be 2.34 and 2.86, respectively. The results are relevant in quantitative modelling of gas transport in shale reservoirs.

Lacking of efficient methods, industry currently uses one only parameter—fuel flow rate—to evaluate the nozzle quality, which is far from satisfying the current emission regulations worldwide. By utilizing synchrotron radiation high energy X-ray in Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF), together with the imaging techniques, the 3D models of two nozzles with the same design dimensions were established, and the influence of parameters fluctuation in the azimuthal direction were analyzed in detail. Results indicate that, due to the orifice misalignment, even with the same design dimension, the inlet rounding radius of orifices differs greatly, and its fluctuation in azimuthal direction is also large. This difference will cause variation in the flow characteristics at orifice outlet and then further affect the spray characteristics. The study also indicates that, more precise investigation and insight into the evaluation and optimization of diesel nozzle structural parameter are needed.

Using a table-top size soft X-ray (SXR) microscope, based on a laser plasma source with a double stream gas-puff target and a Fresnel zone plate objective, series of images of test samples were acquired. Characterization and optimization of the acquisition parameters were studied and evaluated in terms of signal to noise ratio (SNR). Conclusions for the optimization of SXR imaging were reached. Similar SNR measurements might be performed to characterize other SXR imaging systems as well. Software enabling live calculation of the SNR during the image acquisition might be introduced in future in the compact imaging systems for optimal image acquisition or for benchmarking purposes.

With growing pressure of social aging, China has to face the increasing population of osteoporosis patients as well as the whole world. Recently synchrotron radiation has become an essential tool for biomedical exploration with advantage of high resolution and high stability. In order to study characteristic changes in different stages of primary osteoporosis, this research focused on the different periods of osteoporosis of rats based on synchrotron radiation. Both bone histomorphometry analysis and finite element analysis were then carried on according to the reconstructed three dimensional models. Finally, the changes of bone tissue in different periods were compared quantitatively. Histomorphometry analysis showed that the structure of the trabecular in osteoporosis degraded as the bone volume decreased. For femurs, the bone volume fraction (Bone volume/ Total volume, BV/TV) decreased from 69% to 43%. That led to the increase of the thickness of trabecular separation (from 45.05μ m to 97.09μ m) and the reduction of the number of trabecular (from 7.99 mm-1 to 5.97mm-1). Simulation of various mechanical tests with finite element analysis (FEA) indicated that, with the exacerbation of osteoporosis, the bones' ability of resistance to compression, bending and torsion gradually became weaker. The compression stiffness of femurs decreased from 1770.96 Fμ m⁻¹ to 697.41 Fμ m⁻¹, the bending and torsion stiffness were from 1390.80 Fμ m⁻¹ to 566.11 Fμ m⁻¹ and from 2957.28N.m/^o to 691.31 N.m/^o respectively, indicated the decrease of bone strength, and it matched the histomorphometry analysis. This study suggested that FEA and synchrotron radiation were excellent methods for analysing bone strength conbined with histomorphometry analysis.

Faience (glazed quartz) production is one of the complex craft techniques used by artisans to create high-status goods for elite consumers during the Harappan Phase, 2600–1900 BC. In this study, some faience objects selected from Harappa site, Pakistan were analyzed by LA-ICP-AES and SR-μ CT. The results suggested that these faience objects can be divided into two groups by using different flux: sajji-khar (a kind of plant ash) and mixed alkali flux; copper and iron were used as coloring elements in the blue and red faience; the forming technology of two groups of faience was similar:these beads were firstly formed on an organic cylinder and then glazed by using the efflorescence technique according to replica experiments and the structural information revealed by SR-μ CT slices. Up to our knowledge, the results firstly and scientifically confirm that the production of the Harappan faience beads adopts the efflorescence glazing method. The research has increased the understanding about production technology of ancient Indus faience.

We describe the electronics and data acquisition system used in the first phase of the PandaX experiment—a 120 kg dual-phase liquid xenon dark matter direct detection experiment in the China Jin-Ping Underground Laboratory. This system utilized 180 channels of commercial flash ADC waveform digitizers. During the entire experimental run, the system has achieved low trigger threshold (<1 keV electron-equivalent energy) and low deadtime data acquisition.

In this work we analyze how advanced Electron Beam Ion Sources (EBIS) can facilitate the progress of carbon therapy facilities. We will demonstrate that advanced ion sources enable operation of 2-nd generation ion beam therapy (IBT) accelerators. These new accelerator concepts with designs dedicated to IBT provide beams better suited for therapy and, are more cost efficient than contemporary IBT facilities. We will give a sort overview of the existing new IBT concepts and focus on those where ion source technology is the limiting factor. We will analyse whether this limitation can be overcome in the near future thanks to ongoing EBIS development.