DEMIN: A neutron spectrometer, Micromegas-type, for inertial confinement fusion experiments

A new neutron diagnostic has been designed to achieve high energy neutron spectroscopy in large γγ background. The concept is based on the association of a Micromegas detector with a neutron-to-charged particle converter. Studies have been performed with a neutron generator and γγ-ray sources and it has been shown that 14 MeV neutrons can be detected with improved efficiency and relative γγ insensitivity. This low γγ sensitivity makes this concept appealing for inertial fusion experiments. Experiments have been performed on the 60 beams, 30 kJ OMEGA laser system at the University of Rochester and have demonstrated the applications of this detector.