Radioactivation Measurement of a Protective Collimator and Comparisons with Simulation After METU-Defocusing Beamline Pretest Irradiation

Abstract

Electronic components must be tested to allow for safe and reliable missions in radiation environments. The METU Defocusing Beamline (METU-DBL) was installed in the R&D room at the Particle Accelerator Facility (PAF) of Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency (TENMAK). This facility was established in accordance with the European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Components Coordination (ESCC), No: 25100 standard to conduct proton irradiation tests for electronic components and various materials to be used in the space environment. METU-DBL uses beam elements such as quadrupole magnets to amplify the beam and collimators to reduce the flux, as per the specifications of the standard.

A pretest setup was constructed, and this system was operated for a total of 17 hours for three months before the METU-DBL final design was assembled. The first protective collimator is made of stainless steel 316L and was used during the period of pretests. As a result of these irradiations, the emerged radioisotopes in the collimator were observed and measured in situ with a NaI detector. These measurements were compared with the FLUKA simulations 120 days after the last irradiation. Among fourteen radioisotopes, only six of them with activity above 1.0×101 Bq/cm3 were matched.

Keywords

• METU-DBL
• FLUKA
• Radioactivation

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