Testing a new NIF neutron time-of-flight detector with a bibenzyl scintillator on OMEGA.

A new neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detector with a bibenzyl crystal as a scintillator has been designed and manufactured for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). This detector will replace a nTOF20-Spec detector with an oxygenated xylene scintillator currently operational on the NIF to improve the areal-density measurements. In addition to areal density, the bibenzyl detector will measure the D-D and D-T neutron yield and the ion temperature of indirect- and direct-drive-implosion experiments. The design of the bibenzyl detector and results of tests on the OMEGA Laser System are presented.

Characterizing time decay of bibenzyl scintillator using time correlated single photon counting.

The time decay of several scintillation materials has been measured using the time correlated single photon counting method and a new organic crystal with a highly suppressed delayed light has been identified. Results comparing the light decay of the bibenzyl crystal with a xylene based detector, which is currently installed at National Ignition Facility will be presented.

Expedited laser damage profiling of KDxH(2-x)PO4 with respect to crystal growth parameters.

We investigate the laser-induced damage resistance at 355 nm in deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) crystals grown with varying growth parameters, including speed of growth and temperature. The aim is to explore a new expedited method to study the growth parameters affecting the laser-induced damage resistance in DKDP material to obtain crystals with enhanced performance.