A neutron irradiation facility featuring cryogenic temperatures and dedicated to Large Hadron Collider detector design

Abstract The SARA facility at Grenoble provides the possibility to carry out neutron irradiation studies at both cryogenic and room temperatures, and permits at the same time to measure on-line the deterioration of the electronic performance of the tested circuits. The cryogenic vessel consists of a 101 liquid argon cryostat placed behind the neutron source. A TOF technique was used to measure the neutron energy spectrum produced by the collision of a 20 MeV deuteron beam on a thick Be target. Alanine and thermoluminescent dosimeters were used to determine the neutron and photon doses. The results show that the neutron and the gamma dose components are about 78% and 22%, respectively. The angular distribution of the dose was also measured.