A new CVD diamond mosaic-detector for (n, α) cross-section measurements at the n_TOF experiment at CERN

At the n_TOF experiment at CERN a dedicated single-crystal chemical vapor deposition (sCVD) Diamond Mosaic-Detector has been developed for (n,α) cross-section measurements. The detector, characterized by an excellent time and energy resolution, consists of an array of 9 sCVD diamond diodes. The detector has been characterized and a cross-section measurement has been performed for the 59Ni(n,α)56Fe reaction in 2012. The characteristics of the detector, its performance and the promising preliminary results of the experiment are presented.