A highly efficient neutron time-of-flight detector for inertial confinement fusion experiments

We have developed the highly efficient neutron detector system MANDALA for the inertial-confinement-fusion experiment. The MANDALA system consists of 842 elements plastic scintillation detectors and data acquisition electronics. The detection level is the yield of 1.2 x 10(5) for 2.5 MeV and 1 x 10(5) for 14.1 MeV neutrons (with 100 detected hits). We have calibrated the intrinsic detection efficiencies of the detector elements using a neutron generator facility. Timing calibration and integrity test of the system were also carried out with a Co-60 gamma ray source. MANDALA system was applied to the implosion experiments at the GEKKO XII laser facility. The integrity test was carried out by implosion experiments. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(99)68401-5].