UC Berkeley

Tagging of neutrons (2.45 MeV) with their associated ³He particles from deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion reactions has been demonstrated in a compact neutron generator setup enabled by a high brightness, microwave-driven ion source with a high fraction of deuterons. Energy spectra with well separated peaks of the D-D fusion reaction products, ³He, tritons, and protons, were measured with a silicon PIN diode. The neutrons were detected using a liquid scintillator detector with pulse shape discrimination. By correlating the ³He detection events with the neutron detection in time, we demonstrated the tagging of emitted neutrons with ³He particles detected with a Si PIN diode detector mounted inside the neutron generator vacuum vessel.