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The n_TOF neutron time-of-flight facility at CERN is used for nuclear data measurements. The n_TOF Collaboration works closely with the Nuclear Reaction Data Centres (NRDC) network to disseminate the experimental data through the international EXFOR library. In addition, the Collaboration helps integrate the results in the evaluated library projects. The present contribution describes the dissemination status of n_TOF results, their impact on evaluated libraries and ongoing efforts to provide n_TOF resonance parameters in ENDF-6 format for further use by evaluation projects.

During the second long shutdown period of the CERN accelerator complex (LS2, 2019-2021), several upgrade activities took place at the n_TOF facility. The most important have been the replacement of the spallation target with a next generation nitrogen-cooled lead target. Additionally, a new experimental area, at a very short distance from the target assembly (the NEAR Station) was established. In this paper, the core commissioning actions of the new installations are described. The improvement in the n_TOF infrastructure was accompanied by several detector development projects. All these upgrade actions are discussed, focusing mostly on the future perspectives of the n_TOF facility. Furthermore, some indicative current and future measurements are briefly reported.

There has been a continued effort since 2019 within the IAEA INDEN collaboration to improve the evaluation of neutron induced reactions on iron isotopes. The reason for the 30% underestimation of the neutron leakage spectrum from a thick iron sphere was found primarily to be due to the overestimation of the inelastic cross sections in the 56Fe evaluated data file produced within the CIELO project of the OECD/NEA Data Bank. The over-estimation of the neutron flux between the resonances near 300 keV was traced to neglecting the fluctuating nature of the total cross section of 57Fe in the fast neutron energy range, since the evaluated resolved resonance range of 57Fe extended only up to 190 keV. The added 1=v background in the "iron window" below 28 keV is in excellent agreement with the independently evaluated one in the JENDL-5.0 library that included the direct capture component in the evaluation. Performance of the updated 56;57Fe evaluations was tested on a set of criticality benchmarks from the ICSBEP Handbook, including the dependence on reflector thickness and on new deep penetration shielding benchmark using a 252Cf(sf) neutron source undertaken at Rez, Czech Republic. Neutron leakage for 43 MeV incident neutrons was also validated.

Double-differential cross section (DDX) data on the neutron-induced emission of light charged particles are required for assessing the risk of secondary tumors in particle radiation therapy. There are only very few DDX data available for discrete neutron energies close to and above 100 MeV for carbon. A measurement of DDX on carbon is planned at continuous neutron energies from 20 MeV to 200 MeV with particle detector telescopes at n_TOF (CERN). Several detector development criteria and challenges are reported such as coincidence timing and electromagnetic oscillations for high neutron energy events with particle separation.

Dipole and quadrupole strength distribution of 204 Pb was investigated via a nuclear resonance fluorescence experiment using bremsstrahlung produced using an electron beam at a kinetic energy of 10.5 MeV at the linear accelerator ELBE. We identified 136 states resonantly excited at energies from 3.6 to 8.4 MeV. The present experimental results were used to investigate the E1 transition probabilities by comparison with predictions from the quasiparticle-phonon model (QPM) with the self-consistent energy-density functional (EDF).

Dipole and quadrupole strength distribution of 204 Pb was investigated via a nuclear resonance fluorescence experiment using bremsstrahlung produced using an electron beam at a kinetic energy of 10.5 MeV at the linear accelerator ELBE. We identified 136 states resonantly excited at energies from 3.6 to 8.4 MeV. The present experimental results were used to investigate the E1 transition probabilities by comparison with predictions from the quasiparticle-phonon model (QPM) with the self-consistent energy-density functional (EDF).

The neutron time-of-flight facility nELBE at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf features the first photo-neutron source at a superconducting electron accelerator. The electrons are focused onto a liquid lead target to produce bremsstrahlung which in turn produces neutrons via photo-nuclear reactions. The emitted neutron spectrum ranges from about 10 keV up to 15 MeV with a source strength of above 10¹¹ neutrons per second. The very precise time structure of the accelerator with a bunch width of a few ps enables time-of-flight measurements at very short flight path and experiments to investigate the time response of novel detector concepts. The high repetition rate of 100 to 400 kHz in combination with the low instantaneous flux and the absence of any moderating materials provide favorable background conditions. The very flexible beam properties at nELBE enable a broad range of nuclear physics experiments. Examples for the versatility of nELBE will be presented: From transmission measurements and inelastic neutron scattering and fission experiments to determine nuclear reaction cross sections with relevance for fundamental nuclear physics, reactor safety calculations, nuclear transmutation or particle therapy to experiments to investigate the response of novel particle detectors e.g. for dark matter search experiments, nuclear instrumentation or the range verification in cancer treatment.

The neutron time-of-flight facility nELBE at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf features the first photo-neutron source at a superconducting electron accelerator. The electrons are focused onto a liquid lead target to produce bremsstrahlung which in turn produces neutrons via photo-nuclear reactions. The emitted neutron spectrum ranges from about 10 keV up to 15 MeV with a source strength of above 10¹¹ neutrons per second. The very precise time structure of the accelerator with a bunch width of a few ps enables time-of-flight measurements at very short flight path and experiments to investigate the time response of novel detector concepts. The high repetition rate of 100 to 400 kHz in combination with the low instantaneous flux and the absence of any moderating materials provide favorable background conditions. The very flexible beam properties at nELBE enable a broad range of nuclear physics experiments. Examples for the versatility of nELBE will be presented: From transmission measurements and inelastic neutron scattering and fission experiments to determine nuclear reaction cross sections with relevance for fundamental nuclear physics, reactor safety calculations, nuclear transmutation or particle therapy to experiments to investigate the response of novel particle detectors e.g. for dark matter search experiments, nuclear instrumentation or the range verification in cancer treatment.

A deficiency in the implementation of current radiation protection is the determination of the ambient dose equivalent H*(10) and the directional dose equivalent H ́(0.07) in pulsed radiation fields. Conventional dosimeter systems are not suitable for measurements in photon fields comprising short radiation pulses, which consequently leads to high detector loads in short time periods. Nevertheless, due to the implementation of advanced medical accelerators for cancer therapy, new medical diagnostic devices as well as various laser machining systems, there is an urgent need for suitable dosimeter systems for real time dosimetry. In this paper, a detector concept based on an organic scintillator and a full digital data analysis with the aim of developing a portable, battery powered measurement system is presented.

The neutron time-of-flight facility nELBE at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf features the first photo-neutron source at a superconducting electron accelerator. The electrons are focused onto a liquid lead target to produce bremsstrahlung which in turn produces neutrons via photo-nuclear reactions. The emitted neutron spectrum ranges from about 10 keV up to 15 MeV with a source strength of above 10¹¹ neutrons per second. The very precise time structure of the accelerator with a bunch width of a few ps enables time-of-flight measurements at very short flight path and experiments to investigate the time response of novel detector concepts. The high repetition rate of 100 to 400 kHz in combination with the low instantaneous flux and the absence of any moderating materials provide favorable background conditions. The very flexible beam properties at nELBE enable a broad range of nuclear physics experiments. Examples for the versatility of nELBE will be presented: From transmission measurements and inelastic neutron scattering and fission experiments to determine nuclear reaction cross sections with relevance for fundamental nuclear physics, reactor safety calculations, nuclear transmutation or particle therapy to experiments to investigate the response of novel particle detectors e.g. for dark matter search experiments, nuclear instrumentation or the range verification in cancer treatment.

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The neutron time-of-flight facility nELBE at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf features the first photo-neutron source at a superconducting electron accelerator. The electrons are focused onto a liquid lead target to produce bremsstrahlung which in turn produces neutrons via photo-nuclear reactions. The emitted neutron spectrum ranges from about 10 keV up to 15 MeV with a source strength of above 10¹¹ neutrons per second. The very precise time structure of the accelerator with a bunch width of a few ps enables time-of-flight measurements at very short flight path and experiments to investigate the time response of novel detector concepts. The high repetition rate of 100 to 400 kHz in combination with the low instantaneous flux and the absence of any moderating materials provide favorable background conditions. The very flexible beam properties at nELBE enable a broad range of nuclear physics experiments. Examples for the versatility of nELBE will be presented: From transmission measurements and inelastic neutron scattering and fission experiments to determine nuclear reaction cross sections with relevance for fundamental nuclear physics, reactor safety calculations, nuclear transmutation or particle therapy to experiments to investigate the response of novel particle detectors e.g. for dark matter search experiments, nuclear instrumentation or the range verification in cancer treatment.

The photon strength function (PSF) in 115In is an important parameter for the estimate of the neutron capture cross section on 114In in the field of astrophysics and nuclear engineering. Until now, the so-called PSF method for 115In was applied only above the neutron-separation energy (Sn), and the evaluated 114In (n,g) cross section has uncertainties caused by the lack of the PSF below Sn. We studied the dipole strength distribution of 115In with a photon-scattering experiment using bremsstrahlung produced by an electron beam of an energy of 10.3 MeV at the linear accelerator ELBE at HZDR.

Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs) are often used as time-of-flight (TOF) detectors for high-energy physics and nuclear experiments thanks to their excellent time accuracy. For the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) TOF system, MRPCs are required to work at particle fluxes on the order of 1-10 kHz/cm² for the outer region and 10-25 kHz/cm² for the central region. Better time resolution will allow particle identification with TOF techniques to be performed at higher momenta. From our previous studies, a time resolution of 25 ps has been obtained with a 20-gap MRPC of 140 µm gap size with enhanced rate capbability. By using a new type of commercially available thin low-resistivity glass, further improvement MRPC rate capability is possible. In order to study the rate capability of the 10-gap MRPC built with this new low-resistivity glass, we have performed tests using the continuous electron beam at ELBE. This 10-gap MRPC, with 160 µm gaps, reaches 97% efficiency at 19.2 kV and a time resolution of 36 ps at particle fluxes near 2 kHz/cm². At a flux of 100 kHz/cm², the efficiency is still above 95% and a time resolution of 50 ps is obtained, which would fulfil the requirement of CBM TOF system.

Neutron total cross sections are an important source of experimental data in the evaluation of neutroninduced cross sections. The sum of all neutron-induced reaction cross sections can be determined with a precision of a few per cent in a relative measurement. The neutron spectrum of the photoneutron source nELBE extends in the fast region from about 100 keV to 10 MeV and has favourable conditions for transmission measurements due to the low instantaneous flux of neutrons and low gamma-flash background. Several materials of interest (in part included in the CIELO evaluation or on the HPRL of OECD/NEA) have been investigated: 197Au [1, 2], natFe [2], natW [2], 238U, natPt, 4He, natO, natNe, natXe. For gaseous targets high pressure gas cells with flat end-caps have been built that hold up to 200 bar pressure. The experimental setup will be presented including results from several transmission experiments and the data analysis leading to the total cross sections will be discussed

The photon strength function (PSF) in 115In is an important parameter for the estimate of the neutron capture cross section on 114In in the field of astrophysics and nuclear engineering. Until now, the so-called PSF method for 115In was applied only above the neutron-separation energy (Sn), and the evaluated 114In (n,g) cross section has uncertainties caused by the lack of the PSF below Sn. We studied the dipole strength distribution of 115In with a photon-scattering experiment using bremsstrahlung produced by an electron beam of an energy of 10.3 MeV at the linear accelerator ELBE at HZDR.

The fast-neutron-induced fission cross section of ²⁴²Pu was measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility nELBE. A parallel-plate fission ionization chamber with novel, homogeneous, large-area ²⁴²Pu deposits on Si-wafer backings was used to determine this quantity relative to the IAEA neutron cross-section standard ²³²U(n, f ) in the energy range of 0.5 to 10 MeV. The number of target nuclei was determined from the measured spontaneous fission rate of ²⁴²Pu. This helps to reduce the influence of the fission fragment detection efficiency on the cross section. Neutron transport simulations performed with GEANT 4, MCNP 6, and FLUKA 2011 are used to correct the cross-section data for neutron scattering. In the reported energy range the systematic uncertainty is below 2.7% and on average the statistical uncertainty is 4.9%. The determined results show an agreement within 0.67(16)% to recently published data and a good accordance to current evaluated data sets.

The fast-neutron-induced fission cross section of ²⁴²Pu was measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility nELBE. A parallel-plate fission ionization chamber with novel, homogeneous, large-area ²⁴²Pu deposits on Si-wafer backings was used to determine this quantity relative to the IAEA neutron cross-section standard ²³²U(n, f ) in the energy range of 0.5 to 10 MeV. The number of target nuclei was determined from the measured spontaneous fission rate of ²⁴²Pu. This helps to reduce the influence of the fission fragment detection efficiency on the cross section. Neutron transport simulations performed with GEANT 4, MCNP 6, and FLUKA 2011 are used to correct the cross-section data for neutron scattering. In the reported energy range the systematic uncertainty is below 2.7% and on average the statistical uncertainty is 4.9%. The determined results show an agreement within 0.67(16)% to recently published data and a good accordance to current evaluated data sets.

New measurements of the neutron scattering double differential cross section of iron were carried out at the neutron time-of-flight facilities GELINA and nELBE. A neutron spectrometer consisting of an array of up to 32 liquid organic scintillators was employed, which was designed to measure the scattering differential cross section at eight scattering angles and to simultaneously determine the integral cross section via numerical quadrature. The separation of elastic from inelastic scattering was achieved by analysing the time-of-flight dependent light-output distributions to determine the scattered neutron energy. The method was validated by studying elastic scattering on carbon and it was proved to work well for the determination of the elastic cross section. Here, the possibility to extend it to inelastic scattering was investigated too. For these experiments a sample of natural iron was used and the results cover the incident neutron energy range from 2 to 6~MeV. Both the differential and the integral elastic cross sections were produced for Fe, while for inelastic scattering, partial angular distributions for scattering from the first excited level of Fe could be determined.

Neutron total cross sections of natFe, 197Au and natW have been measured at the nELBE neutron time-of-flight facility in the energy range from 0.2 - 8 MeV with an uncertainty due to counting statistics of up to 2 % and a total uncertainty due to systematic effects of 1 %. The neutrons are produced with the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE using a liquid lead circuit as photo-neutron target. By periodical sample-in-sample-out measurements the transmission of the sample materials has been determined using a low-threshold plastic scintillation detector. The resulting effective total cross sections show good agreement with previously measured data that cover only part of the energy range available at nELBE. The results have also been compared to evaluated library files and recent calculations based on a dispersive coupled channel optical model potential.

Neutron total cross sections of natFe, 197Au and natW have been measured at the nELBE neutron time-of-flight facility in the energy range from 0.2 - 8 MeV with an uncertainty due to counting statistics of up to 2 % and a total uncertainty due to systematic effects of 1 %. The neutrons are produced with the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE using a liquid lead circuit as photo-neutron target. By periodical sample-in-sample-out measurements the transmission of the sample materials has been determined using a low-threshold plastic scintillation detector. The resulting effective total cross sections show good agreement with previously measured data that cover only part of the energy range available at nELBE. The results have also been compared to evaluated library files and recent calculations based on a dispersive coupled channel optical model potential.

The nELBE neutron time-of-flight facility provides neutrons in the energy range from about 10 keV up to 10 MeV with an intensity of about 10⁴ n/s/cm². The combination of the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE and a compact liquid lead neutron production target delivers neutron bunches within a time spread of a few picoseconds and a repetition rate of 100 to 400 kHz (cw) enabling high resolution time-of-flight measurement even with flight paths of only 5 to 11 meters. At nELBE different types of fast neutron induced nuclear reactions can be and have been investigated, ranging from total neutron cross section measurement over elastic and inelastic scattering to neutron induced fission. E.g. the neutron induced fission cross section of Pu-242 has been measured in the range from 0.5 to 10 MeV relative to U-235(n,fis) using two fission ionization chambers. A statistical uncertainty down to 1.1 % and systematic uncertainty of about 2.7 % was reached.

Korea has developed a Helium Cooled Ceramic Reflector Test Blanket Module (Ko HCCR TBM) related to the ITER project. Tungsten is considered as a prime candidate for the plasma facing materials in fusion reactors, and for the structure material of Ko HCCR TBM. KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has been evaluating neutron cross sections of tungsten isotopes for neutron energy of up to 150 MeV based on nuclear reaction codes and available measurement data. New experimental data were measured at nELBE of HZDR (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf) for a comparison with the evaluated and existing measurement data. The neutron source nELBE adopts a 40 MeV superconducting electron linac and a liquid Pb target for time-of-flight measurements. The nELBE neutron source uses no moderator and provides fast neutrons. An electron bunch length of 5 ps and a compact target provide a good neutron energy resolution with a relatively short flight length compared to other time-of-flight neutron sources. Transmission data of a natural tungsten sample were measured with a flight path length of 852.1 cm and a repetition rate of 101.56 kHz. The neutron total cross section of natural tungsten was obtained for an energy range of 100 keV to 10 MeV.

The nELBE neutron time-of-flight facility provides neutrons in the energy range from about 10 keV up to 10 MeV with an intensity of about 10⁴ n/s/cm². The combination of the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE and a compact liquid lead neutron production target delivers neutron bunches within a time spread of a few picoseconds and a repetition rate of 100 to 400 kHz (cw) enabling high resolution time-of-flight measurement even with flight paths of only 5 to 11 meters. At nELBE different types of fast neutron induced nuclear reactions can be and have been investigated, ranging from total neutron cross section measurement over elastic and inelastic scattering to neutron induced fission. E.g. the neutron induced fission cross section of Pu-242 has been measured in the range from 0.5 to 10 MeV relative to U-235(n,fis) using two fission ionization chambers. A statistical uncertainty down to 1.1 % and systematic uncertainty of about 2.7 % was reached.

The nELBE neutron time-of-flight facility provides neutrons in the energy range from about 10 keV up to 10 MeV with an intensity of about 104 n/s/cm2. The combination of the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE and a compact liquid lead neutron productiontarget delivers neutron bunches within a time spread of a few picoseconds and a repetition rate of 100 to 400 kHz (cw) enabling high resolution time-of-flight measurement even with flight paths of only 5 to 11 meters. At nELBE different types of fast neutron induced nuclear reactions can be and have been investigated, ranging from total neutron cross section measurement over elastic and inelastic scattering to neutron induced fission. E.g. the neutron induced fission cross section of 242Pu has been measured in the range from 0.5 to 10 MeV relative to 235U(n,f) using two fission ionization chambers. A statistical uncertainty down to 1.1% and systematic uncertainty of about 2.7% was reached.

The neutron time of flight facility nELBE, produces fast neutrons in the energy range from 0.1 MeV to 10 MeV by impinging a pulsed relativistic electron beam on a liquid lead circuit. The short beam pulses (∼10 ps) and a small radiator volume give an energy resolution better than 1% at 1 MeV using a short flight path of about 6 m, for neutron TOF measurements. The present neutron source provides 2 ⋅ 10⁴ n/cm²s at the target position using an electron charge of 77 pC and 100 kHz pulse repetition rate. This neutron intensity enables to measure neutron total cross section with a 2%–5% statistical uncertainty within a few days. In February 2008, neutron radiator, plastic detector and data acquisition system were tested by measurements of the neutron total cross section for ¹⁸¹Ta and ²⁷Al. Measurement of ¹⁸¹Ta was chosen because lack of high quality data in an energy region below 700 keV. The total neutron cross – section for ²⁷Al was measured as a control target, since there exists data for ²⁷Al with high resolution and low statistical error.