Preliminary neutron shielding calculations of the electronics in the EAST BES systems focusing on neutron induced displacement damage

Abstract Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) calculations were carried out to compare neutron shielding capabilities of three frequently used neutron shielding materials: polyethylene without neutron absorbers, polyethylene with boron absorbers and polyethylene with lithium absorbers, according to Non Ionizing Energy Loss (NIEL). The results of 1D shielding calculations showed that simple neutron moderating materials can provide sufficient and cheap shielding against 2.45 MeV and 14.1 MeV fusion neutrons, in terms of 1 MeV neutron equivalent flux, in silicon targets, which is the most commonly used material of electronic components. Based on these results a new shielding concept is proposed which can be taken into consideration where the reduction of displacement damage is the main goal and the free space available for shielding is limited. Based on this shielding concept detailed 3D calculations were carried out to describe the properties of the neutron shielding of the Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) system installed at the EAST tokamak.