7Be neutron production cross section on 12C targets

We present an evaluation of the cross section for the reaction 12C(n,X)7Be. This reaction is relevant to the formation of cosmogenic background in low-energy real time solar neutrino detectors employing carbon-based scintillators. We measured this cross section by using a quasi-monoenergetic (max. 63 MeV) neutron beam at the Centre de Recherches du Cyclotron at Louvain-la-neuve; the produced 7Be nuclei were detected by means of low background germanium gamma spectroscopy at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS).