Recently, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) successfully encapsulated a new generation of medical grade Cf-252 sources having intensities and size comparable to that of the widely used high-dose-rate (HDR) Ir-192 brachytherapy sources. Advent of the new sources, therefore, marked a new era for Cf-252-based neutron brachytherapy (NBT). As part of source calibration and characterization process, a study has been conducted at Georgia Tech lately on determining the neutron and gamma dose rates in water surrounding the new Cf-252 source. A Lucite-walled water phantom was built for this study. The neutron and gamma dose rates were determined both by ion chamber measurements and by Monte Carlo code MCNP. The results show that the measured neutron absorbed dose rates were approximately 25% lower than that predicted by MCNP for all dose positions in water, suggesting that the Cf-252 content of the new source is actually 25% lower than the ORNL's estimate. The measured gamma absorbed dose rates in water, on the contrary, are higher than that predicted by MCNP. The differences between the measured and MCNP-predicted gamma doses are not uniform for all dose positions; they are most pronounced (~a factor of two) at the distance of 1 cm, and fall to approximately 30% at distances 2 cm and beyond. These results suggest that the spectrum of gamma rays emitted from the new Cf-252 source may contain significantly more low-energy gamma rays than the previously published spectrum used in MCNP.

Energy resolution characteristics of silicon surface barrier detector signals amplified by different preamplifiers and spectroscopic amplifiers have been studied. The characterization has been done using alpha particles from an 241Am source and spontaneous fission fragments from two Cf sources. The alpha and spontaneous fission activities of the sources have been measured and the isotopic compositions, ages, and initial activities of the two Cf sources have been calculated using the results from the activity measurements. 82.3% and 82.5% of the spontaneous fission activity of the two sources is found to originate from 252Cf. Heavy ion detection properties of two Si detector setups have been determined by measuring spontaneous fission fragments from one of the Cf sources in coincidence. The mass distribution of fission fragments is derived from the pulse spectra of the coincidence measurements. The conditions for future time resolution measurements have been established. Inquiries on commercially available ultra-thin Si detectors have been made. The purpose is to upgrade detector telescopes to lower the energy threshold of ΔE-ΔE-E identification of particles from neutroninduced nuclear reactions. Three manufacturers of Si detectors with thickness 20-25 µm and active area around 450 mm2 have been listed together with properties of the three offered detectors.

Parallel-plate avalanche counters, PPACs, are commonly used to detect fission fragments. The PPAC detects them and mark (very accurately) the time of detection. Such measurements can be used to measure the neutron energy (via time-of-flight) to study neutron-induced fission.This project report provides a method that, together with the discussed improvements, allows the fabrication of good quality PPAC detectors. Several PPACs are manufactured and the electrodes are built from 0.9 µm thick mylar foils which are evaporated with a 40-80 nm thin layer of aluminum.The developed PPACs are characterized with well known radioactive Cf and Am sources (the source characterization also found in this report), and compared against each other. Additionally, the PPAC signal amplitude spectrum are found to follow theoretical expectations with regards to angular dependence, gas pressure and an applied electrode voltage.At a specific applied electrode voltage and range of gas pressures (3-9 mbar), the measured time resolutions are 2.24-1.38 ns. A trend is observed for finer time resolutions at higher gas pressures. / Parallel-plate avalanche counters, PPACs, används ofta för att detektera fissionsfragment. PPAC:en detekterar fragmenten med väldigt god tidsupplösning och således kan PPAC detektorer användas till att mäta neutron energier (mha. flygtidsmetoden), vilka uppmätts för att studera neutroninducerad fission.Det här projektet och den här rapporten beskriver en metod, med föreslagna förbättringar, som möjliggör tillverkning av PPAC detektorer av bra kvalitet. Under projektet har flera PPACs byggts med elektroder gjorda av 0.9 µm tunn mylar förångade med 40-80 nm aluminium. De tillverkade PPAC detektorerna är karaktäriserade med väl kända radioaktiva Cf- och Am-källor (dessa karaktäriseras även i den här rapporten). Detektorerna är sedan jämförda mot varandra och är funna att följa teoretiska förväntningar med avseende på vinkel-, gastryck- och pålagd elektrodspänningsberoende.Resultaten av projektet, som besvarar flera tidigare frågeställningar och bekräftar vissa antaganden, flyttar utsikten och förståelsen framåt för hur PPACs fungerar och vad forskarna kan uppnå med dem.

Microstructure changes in uranium and uranium/metal alloys due to radiation damage are of great interest in nuclear science and engineering. Titanium has attracted attention because of its similarity to Zr. It has been proposed for use in the second generation of fusion reactors due to its resistance to radiation-induced swelling. Aluminum can be regarded as a standard absorbing material or backing material for irradiation targets. Initial study of thin aluminum films irradiation by �������Cf fission fragments and alpha particles from source has been conducted in the Radiation Center, Oregon State University. Initial study of thin aluminum films irradiation by �������Cf fission fragments and alpha particles from source has been conducted in the Radiation Center, Oregon State University. Aluminum can be regarded as a standard absorbing material or backing material for irradiation targets. The AFM investigation of microstructure damages of thin aluminum surfaces revealed that the voids, dislocation loops and dislocation lines, formed in the thin aluminum films after bombardment by �������Cf fission fragments and alpha particles, depends on the irradiation dose. The void swelling and diameter and depth of voids increase linearly with the fluence of particles and dose; however, the areal density of voids decreased when formation of dislocation loops began. Study of deposition of uranium on titanium backing material by molecular plating and characterization of produced U/Ti film has been performed. The U/Ti film has smooth and uniform surfaces but the composition of the deposits is complex and does not include water molecules which probably involve the presence of U (VI). A possible structure for the deposits has been suggested. X-ray diffraction pattern of U/Ti films showed that The U/Ti film has an amorphous structure. Uranium films (0.500 mg/cm��) and stack of titanium foils (thickness 0.904 mg/cm��) were used to study the microstructural damage of the uranium film and its backing material. Irradiation of U/Ti film and Ti foils with 1 MeV/u (136 MeV) �������Xe�������� ions in was performed in the Positive Ion Injector (PII) unit at the Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS) Facility at Argonne National Laboratory, IL. Pre- and post- irradiation of samples was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The irradiation of U/Ti films results in the formation of a crystalline U���O��� phase and polycrystalline Ti phase. Annealing of the thin uranium deposit on a titanium backing at 800��C in the air atmosphere condition for an hour produced a mixture of UO���, U���O���, Ti, TiO and TiO��� (rutile) phases; meanwhile, annealing at 800oC for an hour in the argon environment produced a mixture of ��-U���O���, Ti and TiO��� (rutile) phases. These phenomena indicate that the damage during irradiation was not due to foil heating. Microstructural damage of irradiated uranium film was dominated by void and bubble formation. The microstructure of irradiated titanium foils is characterized by hillocks, voids, polygonal ridge networks, dislocation lines and dislocation networks. Theory predicts that titanium undergoes an allotropic phase transformation at 882.5 ��C, changing from a closed-packed hexagonal crystal structure (��-phase) into a body-centered cubic crystal structure (��- phase). When the titanium foils were irradiated with 136MeV �������Xe�������� at beam intensity of 3 pnA corresponding to 966��C, it was expected that its structure can change from hexagonal-close packed (hcp) to body-centered cubic (bcc). However, in contrast to the theory, transformation from ��-Ti (hcp) phase to fcc-Ti phase was observed. This phenomenon indicates that during irradiation with high energy and elevated temperature, the fcc-Ti phase more stable than the hcp-Ti Phase. / Graduation date: 2012