The 13C(n,α0)10Be cross section at 14.3MeV and 17MeV neutron energy.

At nuclear fusion reactors, CVD diamond detectors are considered an advantageous solution for neutron flux monitoring. For such applications the knowledge of the cross section of neutron-induced nuclear reactions on natural carbon are of high importance. Especially the (n,α₀) reactions, yielding the highest energy reaction products, are of relevance as they can be clearly distinguished in the spectrum. The ¹³C(n,α₀)10Be cross section was measured relative to ¹²C(n,α₀)9Be at the Van de Graaff facility of EC-JRC Geel, Belgium, at 14.3MeV and 17.0MeV neutron energies. The measurement was performed with an sCVD (single-crystal Chemical Vapor Deposition) diamond detector, where the detector material acted simultaneously as sample and as sensor. A novel data analysis technique, based on pulse-shape discrimination, allowed an efficient reduction of background events. The results of the measurement are presented and compared to previously published values for this cross-section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]