Search

The performance of germanium detectors for high-energy γ-rays was evaluated using a 992-keV resonance in the 27Al(p, γ)28Si reaction. The measurement was conducted at the RIKEN tandem accelerator. The energy of the excited state from the resonance was evaluated as 12540.7(2) keV. Using newly evaluated excitation energy, an energy calibration function and a photo peak efficiency of Ge detectors up to 10.8-MeV photons were deduced. Energy accuracy is achieved at 0.3 keV for the overall energy region. This reaction provides reliable energy and efficiency standards for high-energy γ-rays.

Synopsis Profiles of 2.8 MeV H+ microbeam extracted from a single tapered glass capillary optics were meas-ured by two methods for a future irradiation to an outer organ of insect target. The halo component was analyzed to be 575 μm in full width at half maximum (FWHM) at a plastic tracking detector CR-39 located 1 mm down-stream of the capillary. The core component was examined by knife-edge method according to the ion energies. The profiles consisting of more energy-loss events have wider FWHM, which can be reduced by Al thin layers.

Microbeams of visible light were studied using a tapered glass capillary. Transmittance of laser light through capillaries with different inlet and outlet diameters was measured. About several % of the transmittance was obtained and larger than 80% was achieved in combining with an optical lens. It was found that the obtained transmittance considerably depended on the capillary shape, i.e., the taper angle. Density enhancement of the extracted beam was derived and showed a strong focusing ability for the tapered glass capillary. Propagation of visible light through the capillary was discussed.

Sex chromosomes are particularly interesting regions of the genome for both molecular genetics and evolutionary studies; yet, for most species, we lack basic information, such as the gene order along the chromosome. Because they lack recombination, Y-linked genes cannot be mapped genetically, leaving physical mapping as the only option for establishing the extent of synteny and homology with the X chromosome. Here, we developed a novel and general method for deletion mapping of non-recombining regions by solving “the travelling salesman problem” and evaluate its accuracy using simulated datasets. Unlike the existing radiation hybrid approach, this method allows us to combine deletion mutants from different experiments and sources. We applied our method to a set of newly generated deletion mutants in the dioecious plant Silene latifolia and refined the locations of the sex-determining loci on its Y chromosome map.

A heavy-ion beam has been recognized as an effective mutagen for plant breeding and applied to the many kinds of crops including rice. In contrast with X-ray or γ-ray, the heavy-ion beam is characterized by a high linear energy transfer (LET). LET is an important factor affecting several aspects of the irradiation effect, e.g. cell survival and mutation frequency, making the heavy-ion beam an effective mutagen. To study the mechanisms behind LET-dependent effects, expression profiling was performed after heavy-ion beam irradiation of imbibed rice seeds. Array-based experiments at three time points (0.5, 1, 2 h after the irradiation) revealed that the number of up- or down-regulated genes was highest 2 h after irradiation. Array-based experiments with four different LETs at 2 h after irradiation identified LET-independent regulated genes that were up/down-regulated regardless of the value of LET; LET-dependent regulated genes, whose expression level increased with the rise of LET value, were also identified. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of LET-independent up-regulated genes showed that some GO terms were commonly enriched, both 2 hours and 3 weeks after irradiation. GO terms enriched in LET-dependent regulated genes implied that some factor regulates genes that have kinase activity or DNA-binding activity in cooperation with the ATM gene. Of the LET-dependent up-regulated genes, OsPARP3 and OsPCNA were identified, which are involved in DNA repair pathways. This indicates that the Ku-independent alternative non-homologous end-joining pathway may contribute to repairing complex DNA legions induced by high-LET irradiation. These findings may clarify various LET-dependent responses in rice.

Precise measurement of neutron beta decay tests predictions of the Standard Model of electroweak interaction. The coefficient a of the antineutrino/electron angular correlation is determined by measuring the energy spectrum of the recoil protons generated in the neutron beta decay. A proton spectrometer required for this measurement demands high detection efficiency, high energy resolution and a large detection area. We have begun development of a transition edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeter for use as a low energy particle detector. To realize the large detection area we have designed a pixelated TES array incorporating a parallel biasing scheme. Our TES device consists of 4-pixels using a Au/Ti/Au trilayer film adjusted to a superconducting transition temperature of Tc ~ 380 mK. This temperature is convenient for use in a 3He cryostat with a pulse tube refrigerator. The Au films improve thermal conductivity, thereby reducing position dependent effects and allow an increased detector area.

We have developed a method to produce a nm sized slow highly-charged ion beam based on a self-organized charge up inside a single tapered-glass capillary. In order to investigate the characteristics of the obtained beams, the transmission of 8 keV Ar8+ beam through the capillary of 5-cm long with 800/24 μm inlet/outlet inner diameter was examined. The transmitted beam had the same size as the outlet with the beam-density enhancement of approximately 10. The initial beam was guided through a capillary tilted by as large as ±100 mrad and it still kept the incident charge. A focused ion beam of Ga+ was employed to manufacture the capillary outlet as small as several hundreds nm in diameter and fabricate a thin glass window at the capillary outlet for biological applications.

This year, a prototype of a highly sensitive beam current monitor with a High- Temperature Superconducting (HTS) SQUID and an HTS magnetic shield: HTS-SQUID monitor has been installed in the beam transport line of the RIKEN Ring Cyclotron (RRC). Unlike other existing facilities, the HTS-SQUID monitor allows us to measure the DC of highenergy heavy-ion beams nondestructively in such a way that the beams are diagnosed in real - time and the beam current extracted from the RRC can be recorded without interrupting the beam user's experiments.

A superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) is very attractive for use in high-energy-resolution photon detectors because of its small energy gap. To detect a single photon, the Josephson current of the STJ has had to be suppressed by an external magnetic field. We demonstrated an on-chip coil-integrated STJ photon detector, which excludes the external magnetic field, allowing a small device size. A normal-distribution function shape was adopted for the superconducting electrodes, which makes the magnetic field supplied to the STJ small. We devise a new superconducting photon detector by combining the above techniques. A new Josephson switching gate is also integrated on the same detector chip in order to drive an on-chip integrated coil by a persistent superconducting current. This behavior was confirmed experimentally using the technology of the fabrication process of the Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb Josephson tunnel junction.

An estimation method of micro-meter sized laser profile created by the laser beam transmission through a tapered glass capillary is developed for the target sight-on system of ion microbeam irradiation to living cells. In our system, both the laser and the ions are designed to be transmitted through the same capillary so that the laser spot is surely on the ion track. By selecting the excitation light of a fluorescent protein in cell nucleus, the fluorescent volume can be confirmed as the targeted area.

We succeeded in separating the STJ upper electrode events from other electrode events. This study is for X-ray spectroscopy of slow ions. With a SQUID amplifier, it is clearly seen that the upper electrode signal has a sharp peak with a narrow base, while the other has a relatively gentle peak with a wide base. The difference in signal width was used to separate the upper electrode events from other electrode events. Then the X-ray spectroscopy of slow highly charged ions was carried out at RIKEN. The results are shown here.

The pulse height spectra of the substrate phonon events obtained with superconducting tunnel junctions (STJs) were examined. We compared the spectra for STJs with and without a 50-nm-thick buffer layer of aluminum-oxide on the sapphire substrate under X-ray illumination. We found-that the spectral difference was concentrated in the high-energy tail of the component, corresponding to the events absorbed within a thin skin. The effective thickness of this skin was estimated to be about 3 /spl mu/m by using the amount of difference in the spectra. We explain that the spectral difference could be caused by the selective attenuation of high-frequency phonons in the substrate and buffer layer.

The superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) is one of the most promising devices to use as a fast detector for heavy ions. The energy deposited due to the passage of a heavy ion through an STJ forms a region called a hot spot, where the superconductivity of the region is broken. As a result, a reduction of the critical current (I/sub c/) in the STJ occurs. If the bias current exceeds this reduced I/sub c/, the output voltage from the STJ switches from 0 V to its gap voltage, which is recognizable as a signal due to the heavy ion passage. Nb-based STJs were fabricated for this heavy ion detector and an experiment was performed at the RIKEN Ring Cyclotron Facility to investigate the response to heavy ions. Instantaneous switching to the voltage state of the STJ in response to the decrease in I/sub c/ induced by a heavy ion beam was successfully observed by introducing /sup 40/Ar particles with a kinetic energy of 95 MeV/nucleon into the STJ.

We report the first demonstration of X-ray detection by using a Superconducting Tunnel Junction (STJ) with a microstrip-coil. The STJ was fabricated based on Nb/Al/AlO/sub x//Nb integration process technology using a 2 /spl mu/m design rule. Magnetic field was applied into the STJ by the microstrip-coil to suppress the dc Josephson current instead of the conventional electromagnet. The output waveform was successfully observed by irradiation of 5.9 keV X-ray under a condition of microstrip-coil current of 20 mA at 0.4 K.

The T violating parameter, i(xi), of the decay K+ --> pi(0)mu(+)upsilon, has been determined in KEK experiment E246 from a measurement of the transverse mu(+) polarization, PT. The experiment is the first to use stopped K+ which allows a null test, formation of a double ratio for PT, and enhances the ratio i(xi)/P-T. The results from the 1996-1997 data are: i(xi) = -0.013 +/- 0.016 +/- 0.003 similar to 3P(T). The first error, due to statistics, dominates over the second which is due to systematics. Considerably more data taken in 1998 is under analysis and additional running time has been approved by KEK.

Superconducting tunnel junctions (STJ), with a buffer layer between the silicon substrate and junction, are being developed for use as high-resolution X-ray detectors. Aluminum-oxide (Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/) is employed as the buffer layer in order to suppress the phonon mediated background from the Si substrate. The extent of phonon insulation was studied by measuring the X-ray spectra of STJs as a function of buffer layer thickness. The phonon insulation ability of Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ was compared to that of magnesium-oxide. The Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ layer should be a good phonon insulator, with the ability to suppress phonons with a single buffer layer.

A compact system for an STJ-based high resolution X-ray detection system using a SQUID amplifier has been developed. A noise level of less than 4.8 mV at the SQUID output pulse height of 1.2 V for Nb-based STJ signals was achieved in the temperature range of 1.7-4.2 K with good reproducibility under an external magnetic field of about 0.01 Tesla, which was applied to suppress the Josephson current of the STJ. The results show the possibility of constructing a compact STJ-based X-ray detection system with an 'on-site' low noise SQUID preamplifier.

Slow positron beam was injected into a non-tapered glass capillary which was tilted angle of θ from the beam axis by a movable stage. Beam profiles of the positrons transported through the capillary were observed with a phosphor screen combined with micro channel plates as a function of θ. Some fraction of positrons was deflected with the tilting angle of the capillary.

A Monte-Carlo simulation of MeV ion transmission through glass micro-capillaries had successfully reproduced experimental energy and angular distributions obtained for 71 MeV Xe19+ ions on the IRRSUD beam line of GANIL as well as for MeV protons at ETH facility. The transmitted beam is composed of two parts: a core beam, due to direct transmission through the capillary, and a diffuse halo around, experiencing a large energy loss. The present calculation shows that the halo part is due to elastic scattering by the capillary wall.

Nb-based superconducting tunnel junctions (STJs) with Al trapping layers have been developed for X-ray detectors. One applications for STJs is a low energy radiation detector having energy resolution and a high photon counting rate. STJs have good potential in the band of energies from 40 eV up to 1 keV, because STJs materials have good absorbing properties in this region. The energy resolution was measured by using the Photon Factory beamline BL-12A of High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Japan, and for 200 eV photon, 11 eV Full Width Half at Half Maximum (FWHM) with a 20/spl times/20 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ junction were achieved. In this article, the fabrication technique and preliminary results of measuring the response for this band of energies are reported.

A new electromagnetic calorimeter is designed for the experiment E246 at KEK. It consists of 768 CsI(Tl) crystals with PIN-diode readout. A short description of the calorimeter design and performance is given.

Towards production of microbeams, propagation of laser beams of visible light with wavelengths of 488, 633 and 670 nm through tapered glass capillaries has been studied. In conjunction with an optical lens upstream of the capillaries with outlet sizes ranging from 17 to 100 μm, transmission efficiency more than 80% has been achieved for outlet diameters more than 40 μm

The π0 detector constructed for the T-violation search experiment E246 at KEK is described. It consists of 768 CsI(Tl) crystals with PIN photodiode readout. The crystals are assembled in a tight barrel with holes for muons entering the magnetic spectrometer. The design and performance of the calorimeter are presented. The average light yield of 11 000 p.e./MeV and average equivalent noise level of 63 keV (bench test) were obtained for the CsI(Tl) modules used in the calorimeter. The coherent noise was found to be about 11 keV per a module. A readout electronics has been specifically developed for the high counting rate environment of the experiment. A π0 invariant mass resolution of 9.9 MeV (σ) was obtained for the whole detector, including regions around the muon holes. A time resolution of 3.8 ns (rms) was achieved in the photon energy range of 10–200 MeV.

We have developed a method to produce micrometer-sized beams of keV energy highly charged ions (HCIs) and MeV energy protons/helium ions with tapered glass capillary optics for the applications of micrometer sized surface modifications and a biological tool, respectively. The transmission experiments of keV HCIs through the glass capillaries show a density enhancement of about 10, beam guiding up to 5°, and the extracted beam keeping the initial charge-state. The combination of MeV ion beams and the capillary with a thin end window at its outlet was used for the irradiation of a part of nucleus of a HeLa cell in culture solution. Escherichia coli cells are irradiated by MeV proton microbeam to determine the minimum dose to stop the single flagellar motor. Scanning irradiation of polymer surface by the beam extracted from the capillary in solution containing acrylic acid was found to provide a deposition layer with large affinity with water.

Microbeams of MeV ions focused through tapered glass capillaries with end-windows have been used for the irradiation of small volume (order of 1μm) inside living cells cultivated in liquid medium. In order to control the dose with accuracy of about 1 MeV, single ion irradiation and its counting method are required. We propose here the possibility of single ion counting by using glass capillaries with plastic scintillator end-windows.

We have studied the properties of guiding of Ne7+ ions through nanocapillaries in insulating PET polymers for incident energies from 3.5 to 7 keV with a two-dimensional position sensitive detector. During the intensity evolution of transmitted ions, the deflection angle of the transmitted Ne7+ ions shows a few oscillations before approaching an equilibrium value. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of a scenario where the deflection angles of transmitted ions are governed by charge patches formed on the inner wall of the capillary. In addition, the memory effect of charge patches retained from previous irradiation are studied.

Two years ago, a prototype of a highly sensitive beam current monitor with a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) SQUID, an HTS current sensor and an HTS magnetic shield, that is, an HTS-SQUID monitor, was installed in the beam transport line of the RIKEN ring cyclotron (RRC). As a result, the beam intensity of a sub-μA beam was successfully measured by the prototype HTS-SQUID monitor. In fact, the intensity of a sub-μA 40Ar15+ (63 MeV/u) beam was successfully measured with a 500 nA resolution. However, the current resolution of the prototype HTS-SQUID monitor is not sufficient to measure the current of a uranium beam, which is accelerated in a new radioactive isotope (RI) beam facility called "RI Beam Factory" (RIBF). A minimum current resolution of 1 nA is required for the measurement of the uranium beam. Therefore, we are developing a new HTS-SQUID monitor so as to improve the current resolution. This new monitor consists of three parts, the HTS SQUID, an HTS current sensor and an HTS magnetic shield, and these parts have been separately developed this year. The high-permeability core that is installed in the two input coils of the HTS-SQUID is an extremely important part in this new HTS-SQUID monitor. A 50-fold improvement in gain was successfully realized using the high-permeability core compared with that obtained without the high-permeability core. Another key factor is the substrate of the HTS current sensor. A MgO ceramic tube was used for the substrate of the HTS current sensor in the prototype HTS-SQUID monitor. However, it was difficult to form the bridge circuit using the MgO ceramic substrate in the new HTS-SQUID monitor, because the bridge circuit that magnetically connects the HTS current sensor and the HTS-SQUID has to be three-dimensional. To solve this problem, silver (Ag) of 99.9% purity was adopted for the substrates of the HTS current sensor in the new HTS-SQUID monitor. Then the surfaces of the substrates were coated by a thin layer (70μm) of Bi2-Sr2-Ca1-Cu2-Ox (Bi 2212), which is an HTS material. We report the results of this development.

We present here a cell surgery scheme involving selective inactivation or disruption of cellular structures. Energetic ions are injected into a cell through a tapered glass capillary like a microinjection method. A slight but essential difference from microinjection is that a thin window is prepared at the outlet so that no liquid material can flow in or back through the outlet while still allowing energetic ions to penetrate into the cell. An ∼ MeV He ion beam from such a capillary having 10 μm outlet diameter inactivated a selected volume ( ∼ μm3) of fluorescent molecules located in a HeLa cell nucleus.

We have developed methods to focus slow highly charged ions, MeV ions, and muon beams with various glass-made beam optics. (1) A focusing effect for an Ar8 + beam of 8 keV through a cm-long tapered capillary was obtained with a density enhancement of the transmitted beam compared with that of the input beam, which increases from 1 to 6 as the input current decreases from 30 pA to 0.8 pA. To study the stability of the transmitted beams through a glass capillary, we have measured the transmission of an 104 keV Ar8+ beam through a gap between a pair of parallel glass plates, and observed a precisely vibrational output current. (2) For 4 MeV He2+ beam, a 100 times density enhanced beam by a cm-long tapered capillary with a closed outlet was utilized to irradiate a cell in liquid. The range of the beam was controlled by the closed outlet with accuracy of ~1 μm. (3) Using 40 cm-long tapered glass tubes, a density enhancement of a factor of 2 was observed for both positive and negative muon beams with an energy of 13 MeV.

The authors have developed a method to produce a microbeam of slow highly charged ions based on a self-organized charge-up inside a tapered glass capillary. A transmission of 8keV Ar8+ beam through the capillary 5cm long with 800∕24μm inlet/outlet inner diameters was observed stably for more than 1200s. The transmitted beam had the same size as the outlet with a beam density enhancement of approximately 10 and a divergence of ±5mrad. The initial beam was guided through a capillary tilted by as large as ±100mrad, and it still kept the incident charge.

Superconducting tunnel junctions exhibit excellent performance in energy resolution together with the high rate counting capabilities which cannot be realized with conventional radiation detectors. We discuss possible improvements in astronomy and other research fields by employing superconducting tunnel junctions as detectors of X-rays and visible photons.