Neutron metrology relies on the establishment of reliable references in terms of energy and fluence, which are crucial for research, industry, and radiation protection. The micro-Irradiation, neutron metrology and dosimetry Laboratory (LMDN), in collaboration with the French National Metrology Institute (LNE), is responsible for the national standards in this field. The LMDN uses several systems as scintillators to determine the energy distribution of the fluence of the neutron fields. However, classical liquid scintillators are limited to energies above 1 MeV.
Recent advances in stilbene crystal growth have enabled the development of new crystals with better energy resolution while extending neutron sensitivity down to the 100 keV – 1 MeV range. Within the SIMONE project, two 2''×2'' stilbene detectors and two 2''×2'' EJ309 scintillators were acquired by the LMDN and coupled to a digital acquisition system in order to enhance measurement capabilities.
This thesis focuses on the complete characterization of these detectors for both photons and neutrons. After optimizing digital acquisition parameters and evaluating neutron/gamma discrimination performances, photon characterization was carried out over the 59 keV – 7 MeV range. An automatic calibration method, based on an adaptation of the so-called second derivative technique, was developed. Monte Carlo simulations (MCNP6.2) were performed to establish the photon response matrix, which was then adjusted with source measurements. Results confirmed the better resolution of stilbene detectors compared to EJ309, while also showing discrepancies between simulations and measurements, particularly in the fluence normalization.
Neutron response matrices in energy and fluence were established over an energy range from 100 keV to 22 MeV. The neutron response matrix was determined using the time-of-flight method on a white neutron spectrum at the NFS facility (GANIL, France). Fluence normalization was performed using measurements in quasi-monoenergetic neutron fields at the PTB (Germany). A Monte Carlo simulation was developed to correct for pile-up and dead-time effects. The responses of stilbenes below 1 MeV were obtained, but fluence normalization could not be carried out due to a technical problem unrelated to the SIMONE measurement system
The results demonstrate that stilbene scintillators represent a significant step in neutron metrology by covering the previously inaccessible 100 keV – 1 MeV range. The EJ309 scintillators provide a complementary isotropic response well-suited for multidirectional neutron fields. Altogether, these detectors will be suitable for establishing metrological references at the LMDN.

Neutron spectrometry, Time of flight, stilbene scintillator, Neutron characterization, Photon characterization, EJ309

Full text: https://theses.fr/s374672

As part of its activities, the Laboratory for Micro-Irradiation, Metrology, and Neutron Dosimetry (LMDN), located in Cadarache, France, has an experimental facility that allows the generation of reference neutron fields. This facility includes, among other things, a platform called CARAT, equipped with a SAME T400 accelerator. Coupled with various moderators, this accelerator can generate realistic neutron fields (representative of those encountered in nuclear industry workplaces) as well as predominantly thermal fields (En < 0.025 eV). To expand the range of reference neutron fields and meet the needs of the industrial sector, notably for detector calibration, or the medical industry, particularly with accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy (AB-BNCT) on 10B, the LMDN aims to enhance its platform with an epithermal neutron field, with energies ranging between 0.5 eV and 10 keV, capable of delivering a dose of 1 mSv in less than eight hours of irradiation.The design of a first moderator was modeled for 3.3 MeV neutrons produced from the D(d,n)3He reaction available on the T400 accelerator. Simulations conducted using the Monte Carlo code MCNP led to a design that met all constraints imposed by the laboratory (dose, mass, dimensions, neuron energy). However, a feasibility study showed that manufacturing the moderator was industrially complex due to the layering of different materials and exceeded the allocated budget. As a result, the fabrication of a moderator for the T400 accelerator was postponed.In the absence of a moderator, it was not possible to proceed with the second part of this thesis, which focused on the characterization of an epithermal neutron field. Therefore, a second moderator, more compact, cost-effective, and feasible within the timeframe of the thesis, was studied on the AMANDE accelerator using the 7Li(p, n)7Be reaction. This reaction was chosen for its threshold at 1.880 MeV, which allows to produce neutrons with an average energy of 30 keV, close to the reaction threshold. Thus, a few centimeters of high-density polyethylene can slow down these neutrons and create a field where the epithermal neutron flux contribution is higher than that of thermal and fast neutron fluxes.A first measurement campaign was carried out by the LPSC using the MIMAC fast-N detector to measure the energy of neutrons produced near the threshold of the 7Li(p, n)7Be reaction on AMANDE. This campaign confirmed the energy distribution measured of the neutrons with the distribution generated by the TARGET software, which is used to generate source terms for the MCNP simulations in this thesis. A second campaign, involving AMANDE’s moderator, was conducted in January 2024 using two detection systems. On the one hand, the neutron activation method using 197Au foils, a well-established method in neutron measurements, and on the other hand, a new detector, the Neutron Flux Monitor (NFM), developed by LPSC Grenoble. The NFM is a gaseous detector based on neutron capture by 10B. This detector was used in one of its first experimental campaigns. As part of this research, a method to determine the thermal and epithermal fluxes of the neutron field using the NFM was developed. These two systems provided complementary measurements of the thermal and epithermal neutron fluxes in the field. Finally, the experimental results were compared with Monte Carlo simulations performed using MCNP.

Epithermal neutrons, Neutron detection, Neutron activation, Metrology

Full text: https://theses.fr/2025GRALY003

The precise experimental characterization of non-unique forbidden beta transitions remains both an important and challenging topic. Indeed, only a limited number of reliable studies can be found in the literature. The continuous energy spectra of these transitions are particularly difficult to measure accurately due to several factors: the high diffusivity of electrons in matter and the non-linearity of detection systems; the limited availability of radionuclides and the presence of impurities; their long half-lives and the complexity of the associated decay schemes. From a theoretical standpoint, realistic predictions are also challenging because they require coupling accurate atomic and nuclear structure models through the weak interaction within a consistent, fully relativistic framework. Improving our understanding of non-unique forbidden beta transitions is, however, of fundamental importance in radioactivity metrology, particularly for the realization of the becquerel in the case of pure beta emitters. Furthermore, it has significant implications for nuclear medicine (microdosimetry, targeted radionuclide therapy) and for the nuclear industry (reactor residual power estimation, nuclear waste management). Recent studies have also highlighted the relevance of these transitions to several fundamental physics topics, such as dark matter searches and reactor neutrino physics. In response to the need for high-precision beta spectra, a dedicated beta spectrometer was developed at LNE-LNHB to measure beta spectrum shapes and improve decay data for beta emitters. During this PhD thesis, the spectrometer — featuring an almost 4π detection geometry and operating with an ultrathin radioactive source positioned between two silicon detectors — was extensively upgraded. The original PIPS detectors were replaced by Si(Li) detectors, the entire front-end electronics was renewed, and a new data acquisition system was implemented. The methods for radioactive source preparation were also further optimized. The reconstruction of the emitted beta spectra was performed using a novel coincidence analysis combined with a spectral unfolding approach. Several unfolding techniques were investigated to evaluate potential biases, with Tikhonov regularization providing the most reliable results. The latter was therefore adopted for the analysis. The response matrix of the detection system, required for the unfolding, was obtained using a detailed Geant4 simulation incorporating a highly accurate geometric model of the spectrometer. The quality of the Geant4 modeling was validated against measurements performed with a ²⁰⁷Bi calibration source. The beta spectra of ¹⁴⁷Pm and ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y were subsequently measured and analyzed to extract the endpoint energy and shape factor. For ¹⁴⁷Pm, an endpoint energy of 226.2(7) keV was obtained, slightly higher than the AME2020 evaluated value. No significant deviation from an allowed shape was observed. For ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y, simultaneous fitting yielded endpoint energies of 547.7(14) keV for ⁹⁰Sr and 2264.9(35) keV for ⁹⁰Y. The ⁹⁰Sr result is consistent with the AME2020 evaluation, while the ⁹⁰Y value lies about 10 keV below the evaluated one. Due to uncertainties in the energy calibration, no meaningful shape factor could be extracted for the ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y data. Finally, the properties of the first excited 0⁺ state of ⁹⁰Zr were investigated using coincidence analysis. The half-life of this state was measured to be 53.5(11) ns, differing from the previously reported value of 61.3(25) ns. Its excitation energy was estimated at 1754.9(16) keV, also in disagreement with the ENSDF evaluated value.

Beta spectra, Semiconductor detectors, Monte Carlo simulations, Spectrum unfolding, Shape factor, Q-Value

Full text: https://theses.fr/2025UPASP147

Gamma-ray spectrometry stands as a traditional technique for identifying and quantifying γ-emitting radionuclides in a wide range of nuclear physics applications, including rapid detection of illicit nuclear material trafficking, decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and in situ environmental analysis following a radiological or nuclear incident. For these applications, there is a growing demand for automatic analysis tools that can be used by non-expert users and also enable robust decision-making under short-duration measurement conditions (i.e., low statistics). Furthermore, the measurements carried out in complex environments can lead to variability of the shape of γ-spectra due to physical phenomena such as attenuation, Compton scattering and fluorescence resulting from the interactions of γ-photons in the surroundings between the radioactive source and the detector.To address these challenges, this thesis introduces a hybrid approach that combines machine learning and statistical methods to more accurately reflect the physical properties of the measurement process. Central to this approach is the Interpolating Autoencoder (IAE), a machine learning model designed to capture spectral variability. The IAE is evaluated using Geant4 radiation-matter simulations with a geometry involving a point source located in a sphere for the NaI(Tl) detector. Two types of IAE models are considered: an individual model, which learns the spectral variability independently for each radionuclide, and a joint model, which captures correlations in spectral variability across all radionuclides. The IAE models the spectral signatures—representing the detector's response to γ-photon emissions—as a function of a one-dimensional latent variable λ. Building upon the IAE, a novel hybrid full-spectrum spectral unmixing algorithm, SEMSUN, is developed to jointly estimate the spectral signatures and counting of all radionuclides using the maximum likelihood estimation under a Poisson distribution of the measurements. The SEMSUN algorithm is then combined with a model-selection strategy based on the likelihood-ratio test to enable automatic radionuclide identification. Finally, to quantify the uncertainty of the hybrid estimator, two Bayesian inference techniques are investigated: the Laplace approximation (LA) and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC).The results demonstrate that the IAE models can effectively capture spectral deformation, even in complex scenarios involving up to 12 radionuclides. The proposed hybrid approach has been compared to end-to-end machine learning methods, representing a current trend in γ-ray spectrometry. The findings show that the hybrid method outperforms end-to-end ML approaches in both identification and quantification tasks. It maintains a false positive rate (or false alarm rate) close to the expected value and gives superior detection capability under low-statistics conditions. The performance of this approach using individual IAE models is slightly less precise than that of the joint IAE model, as it does not capture the correlations between the spectral signatures of different radionuclides. Regarding uncertainty quantification, while the LA method is computationally efficient, the MCMC method offers more robust results when constraints strongly influence the distribution, though at a higher computational cost.

Gamma-Ray spectrometry, Machine learning, Spectral unmixing, Hybrid algorithm, Spectral variability, Artificial intelligence

Full text: https://theses.fr/2025UPASG068

This thesis presents the development and validation of a novel method for identifying illicit materials based on active photon interrogation coupled with photoneutron spectrometry (API-PS). The approach relies on inducing photo-nuclear reactions in concealed materials using a 23 MV LINAC and analyzing the energy spectra of the emitted neutrons with liquid organic scintillators and dedicated unfolding algorithms. A full experimental test bench was designed, including shielding, synchronization electronics, calibration procedures, and custom software. We successfully separated neutrons from gamma rays in harsh, pulsed, mixed-field environments, and unfolded neutron spectra from benchmark targets (graphite, glucose, melamine) to identify the distinct nuclear signatures of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. These signatures were then retrieved in realistic inspection scenarios involving suitcases and crates containing nitrogen-rich materials such as melamine. Finally, we introduced DeepNSI, a deep learning framework trained on experimental and simulated spectra, capable of identifying light elements and reconstructing neutron energy distributions. This proof-of-concept demonstrates that neutron spectrometry can be used not only to detect but also to characterize threat materials in complex inspection environments. The method opens new prospects for security screening, but also for applications in medical dosimetry, nuclear waste management, and potentially in environmental sciences such as lithium exploration.

Active Photon Interrogation, Photoneutron Spectrometry, Illicit Material Detection, Organic Scintillators, Neutron-Gamma Discrimination, Deep Learning for Nuclear Applications

Full text: https://theses.fr/2025UPASP081

ALLAOUA A., DUCASSE Q., MAGALOTTI N., POZZI F., RUSSO L., BEDOGNI R., CABALLERO-PACHECO M.A., CASTRO-CAMPOY A.I., FRIGI F.L., PIETROPAOLO A., CALAMIDA A., GOMEZ-ROS J.M., TURCHI S., “A new neutron area monitor with extended energy range”, The European Physical Journal Plus, DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06348-3.

ALLAOUA A., DUCASSE Q., MAGALOTTI N., BEDOGNI R., CABALLERO-PACHECO M.A., CASTRO-CAMPOY A.I., FRIGI F.L., PIETROPAOLO A., “Neutron spectrometry in radionuclide-based reference neutron fields at the ASNR Cadarache CEZANE facility using the NCT-WES single-moderator directional spectrometer”, The European Physical Journal Plus, DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06716-z.

ALVES J., CALDEIRA M., FERNANDES A., KETELHUT S., KHANBABAEE B., HUPE O., ZUTZ H., RÖTTGER A., SIISKONEN T., NYLUND R., ADAM-GUILLERMIN C., ŽIVANOVIĆ M., VERES A., SOCHOR V., IOAN M.-R., ŠABETA A., BERNAT R., BELLO S., WENS B., GLAVIČ-CINDRO D., PERSSON L., “Strategic research agenda and roadmaps for radiation protection metrology”, European Physical Journal Plus, 2025, 140, 1003, DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06898-6.

ANTICI P., ALTAOMARE C., AMPOLLINI A., ASTORINO M.D., BAZZANO G., CATRIX E., CEMMI A., COLANGELI A., DI SARCINA I., LAZZARO D.S., LELIÈVRE R., LORETI S., FOURMAUX S., FUCHS J., NENZI P., PAGANO G., PANZA F., RONSIVALLE C., SCIFO J., VALLIÈRES S., “Laser-driven proton sources for efficient radiation testing”, Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-05682-x.

ARNOLD D., ANDREASEN R., CANKUR O., CHAMBON L., CHRISTL M., CORCHO ALVARADO J.A., ENGIN B.A., GUDELIS A., HAIN K., HANSEN V., HAPPEL S., IOAN M.-R., IRRGEHER J., JEROME S., LALÈRE B., LOURENÇO V., MALINOVSKIY D., MAZÁNOVÁ M., NIKOLIĆ J.K., NOIREAUX J., PEREZ-TRIBOUILLIER H., PRÖFROCK D., QIAO J., RUSSELL B., SALMINEN-PAATERO S., SCHÖPKE C., VIRTANEN S., VOGL J., WALTHER C., WINKLER S., ZULIANI T., “Progress achieved in EURAMET project 21GRD09 MetroPOEM: Metrology for the harmonisation of measurements of environmental pollutants in Europe”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112182, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112182.

BEDOGNI R., CABALLERO-PACHECO M., RUSSO L., CASTRO-CAMPOY A., FRIGI F.L., PIETROPAOLO A., ALLAOUA A., DUCASSE Q., MAGALOTTI N., “Neutron spectrometry in radionuclide-based reference neutron fields at the ASNR Cadarache CEZANE facility using the NCT-WES single-moderator directional spectrometer”, The European Physical Journal Plus, DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06716-z.

BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., RAPP B., BLIDEANU V., “New measurements of photoneutron spectra investigating specific signatures of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen”, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2025, 229, 112566, DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2025.112566.

BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., RAPP B., BLIDEANU V., “Proof of concept for illicit material detection via active photon interrogation and photoneutron spectrometry in realistic inspection scenarios”, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2025, 233, 112709, DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2025.112709.

BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., Q. BESNARD, BLIDEANU V., AL KHOURI K., BONY M., “Experimental data-driven modeling and prediction of (γ,n) cross-sections with physics-informed neural networks and gradient boosted decision trees”, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 2025, 566, 165771, DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2025.165771.

BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., BLIDEANU V., RAPP B., “DeepNSI: Element identification in experimental photoneutron spectra for illicit material detection”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 225, 112014, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112014.

BLIDEANU V., BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., AL KHOURI K., RAPP B., BENNACEUR W., SKUKAN N., “New measurements on neutron-induced activation towards an innovative approach for controlled interferences in neutron activation analysis”, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2025, 234, 112780, DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2025.112780.

BOBIN C., AMIOT M.-N., MICHOTTE C., BOYER B., CARCELLER C., CHAMBON L., COULON R., COURTE S., DULIEU C., LOIDL M., LOURENÇO V., MORELLI S., PIERRE S., SABOT B., THIAM C., “Activity standardization and determination of nuclear decay data of 212Pb at LNE-LNHB and first measurements in the SIR at BIPM”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112124, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112124.

BORDY J., KHATTABI O., CHARDEUR C., LAHLAL K., PLAGNARD J., “Low background facility design and traceability at LNE LNHB for ionizing radiation”, Proceedings of 22e Congrès International de Métrologie (CIM 2025), Lyon, France, 11-14 March 2025, EPJ Web of Conferences, 2025, 323, 11001, DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/202532311001.

BOYER B., LÉPY M.-C., “ACORES, a software for fitting efficiency calibration curves including correlations”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112198, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112198.

BRAY C., FRETWELL S., KIM I., WARBURTON W., PONCE F., LEACH K., FRIEDRICH S., ABELLS R., AMARO P., ANDOCHE A., CANTOR R., DIERCKS D., GUERRA M., HALL A., HARRIS C., HARRIS J., HAYEN L., HERVIEUX P.-A., KIM G.-B., LENNARZ A., LORDI V., MACHADO J., MACHULE M., MARINO A., MCKEEN D., MOUGEOT X., RUIZ C., SAMANTA A., SANTOS J., STONE-WHITEHEAD C., “The data acquisition system for phase-III of the BeEST experiment”, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 2025, 218, 74-82, DOI: 10.1007/s10909-024-03242-7.

CANTONE M.C., MARTIN C.J., GINJAUME M., HAMADA N., YOKOYAMA S., BORDY J.-M., DAUER L., BRADY Z., MCGILL G., MICHELIN S., SEBELA T., OKEJI M.C., PANKOWSKI P., “Report from the IRPA task group on awareness of tissue reactions in the eye lens, cardiovascular system and skin”, Journal of Radiological Protection, 2025, 45, 023002, DOI: 10.1088/1361-6498/addd2b.

CHAMBON L., GUPTA S., ISNARD H., PIERRE S., SABOT B., ARNOLD D., CHRISTL M., CUER C., EBERHARDT J., FLIERL L., JEROME S., LEHNERT A., MAZÁNOVÁ M., NIKOLIĆ J.K., PEREZ-TRIBOUILLIER H., QIAO J., RUSSELL B., WALTHER C., LOURENÇO V., “Production of radioactive traceable reference materials for measuring radioactive pollutants in the environment”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112204, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112204.

CHAMBON L., RODRIGUES M., LOIDL M., FERLAZZO L., HADID J., DUPUIS C., “Source preparation of 241Am and 129I for MMC absorbers of a multi-channel decay energy spectrometer”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112184, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112184.

COULON R., QUERUEL C., BOBIN C., THIAM C., LIU H., FAN Z., MACEDO E., CHOTEAU T., “Description of the ballistic dependence in triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) method using a surrogate optical model”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112200, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112200.

CRAVEIRO G., “Experimental study of forbidden beta transitions”, PhD thesis, Paris-Saclay University, 2025, HAL Id: tel-05494603.

CRAVEIRO G., LEBLOND S., MOUGEOT X., “Measurement of the 147Pm beta decay spectrum with a 4π Si(Li) beta spectrometer”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112193, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112193.

CRAVEIRO G., MOUGEOT X., LEBLOND S., “Internal bremsstrahlung in beta decays”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112197, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112197.

DIMITROVA I., WASIKIEWICZ J., TODOROV V., GEORGIEV S., DARAKTCHIEVA Z., HOWARTH C., WRIGHT D., SABOT B., MITEV K., “Coherent long-term average indoor radon concentration estimates obtained by electronic and solid state nuclear track detectors”, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2025, 226, 112212, DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2024.112212.

D’ORSI B., ALTAOMARE C., AMPOLLINI A., ASTORINO M.D., BAZZANO G., CATRIX E., CEMMI A., COLANGELI A., DI SARCINA I., LAZZARO D.S., LELIÈVRE R., LORETI S., FOURMAUX S., FUCHS J., NENZI P., PAGANO G., PANZA F., RONSIVALLE C., SCIFO J., VALLIÈRES S., ANTICI P., “Laser-driven proton sources for efficient radiation testing”, Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-05682-x.

DOUGNIAUX G., SABOT B., PIERRE S., DHIEUX LESTAEVEL B., “Toward an usage of americium-241 for filter calibration”, Radioprotection, 2025, 60, 203-207, DOI: 10.1051/radiopro/2024059.

DRENNE Q., RODRIGUES M., CHAMBON L., LOURENÇO V., LOIDL M., FERLAZZO L., HADID J., DUPUIS C., “Source preparation of 241Am and 129I for MMC absorbers of a multi-channel decay energy spectrometer”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112184, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112184.

FILLION-GOURDEAU F., VALLIÈRES S., FOURMAUX S., POUPART-RAÏCHE B., DIETRICH N., BEIER N.F., LELIÈVRE R., CATRIX E., MALTAIS J., HUSSEIN A.E., ANTICI P., LÉGARÉ F., MACLEAN S., “High average-flux laser-driven neutron source”, Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-66535-9.

FLECHARD X., NAVILIAT-CUNCIC O., GARREAU R., HAUGEN T.E., HAYEN L., LEBLOND S., LIÉNARD E., MOUGEOT X., QUÉMÉNER G., RANI A., THOMAS J.-C., VANANGENDONCK S., “Backscattering Study of Electrons from 0.1 to 3.4 MeV”, Physical Review C, 2026, 113, 025501, DOI: 10.1103/g3x8-vtr2.

FUCHS J., YAO W., LELIÈVRE R., COHEN I., WALTENSSPIEL T., ALLAOUA A., ANTICI P., AYOUL Y., BECK A., BELUZE A., BLANCARD C., CAVANNA D., CHABANIS M., CHEN S.N., COHEN E., COSSÉ P., DUCASSE Q., DUMERGUE M., EL HAI F., EVRARD C., FILIPPOV E., FRENEAUX A., GAUTIER D.C., GOBERT F., GOUPILLE F., GRECH M., GREMILLET L., HELLER Y., D’HUMIÈRES E., LAHMAR H., LANCIA L., LEBAS N., LECHERBOURG L., MARCHAND S., MATAJA D., MEYNIEL G., MICHAELI D., PAPADOPOULOS D., PEREZ F., PIKUZ S., POMERANTZ I., RENAUDIN P., ROMAGNANI L., TROMPIER F., VEUILLOT E., VINCHON T., MATHIEU F., “Characterization and performance of the Apollon main short-pulse laser beam following its commissioning at 2 PW level”, Physics of Plasmas, DOI: 10.1063/5.0252874.

GIRALT F., FERRIÈRE L., SADAKA C., CHACARTEGUI ROJO Í. d. L., LOSNO R., MOYNIER F., PERRIER F., MESLIN P.-Y., “Radon on Mars and the Moon derived from Martian and lunar meteorites”, Scientific Reports, 2025, 15, 3517, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-86842-x.

HMEDE R., VINCHON T., DUCASSE Q., ALAYA M., MONANGE W., BEZ J., LELIÈVRE R., TROMPIER F., “Application of Convolution Neural Network for Unfolding Simulated Neutron Spectra of an Activation Spectrometer”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2025.3634685.

HUTTON T., BUFFLER A., KIDSON M., FAIRALL E., BABUT R., “Neutron spectrometry in space and aviation with a compact scintillator-based detector”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.111917.

KAUR A., CHAMBON L., LOIDL M., LOURENÇO V., RODRIGUES M., ZAHIR M., “Determination of fractional electron capture probabilities of 59Ni by means of Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters”, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 2025, 218, 29-38, DOI: 10.1007/s10909-024-03235-6.

KRIPKÓ-KONCZ G. et al., “Direct Mass Measurement of 93Pd and Implications for the Isomer Structures in 94Ag: Tracing the Two-proton Decay Branch”, Physical Review Research, 2025, 7, L042022, DOI: 10.1103/mhhn-kmgx.

LEBLOND S., BOBIN C., “Development of a gamma-gamma angular correlation digital instrumentation at LNE-LNHB”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112172, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112172.

LEIDERMARK E., ANEHEIM E., BÄCK T., LINDEGREN S., JENSEN H., DULIEU C., MOUGEOT X., PERSSON L., SABOT B., PALM S., “On-site activity determination of 211At using absolute 4π-α liquid scintillation counting and HPGe”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 221, 111781, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.111781.

LELIÈVRE R., YAO W., COHEN I., WALTENSSPIEL T., ALLAOUA A., ANTICI P., AYOUL Y., BECK A., BELUZE A., BLANCARD C., CAVANNA D., CHABANIS M., CHEN S.N., COHEN E., COSSÉ P., DUCASSE Q., DUMERGUE M., EL HAI F., EVRARD C., FILIPPOV E., FRENEAUX A., GAUTIER D.C., GOBERT F., GOUPILLE F., GRECH M., GREMILLET L., HELLER Y., D’HUMIÈRES E., LAHMAR H., LANCIA L., LEBAS N., LECHERBOURG L., MARCHAND S., MATAJA D., MEYNIEL G., MICHAELI D., PAPADOPOULOS D., PEREZ F., PIKUZ S., POMERANTZ I., RENAUDIN P., ROMAGNANI L., TROMPIER F., VEUILLOT E., VINCHON T., MATHIEU F., “Characterization and performance of the Apollon main short-pulse laser beam following its commissioning at 2 PW level”, Physics of Plasmas, DOI: 10.1063/5.0252874.

LÉPY M.-C., BOYER B., PIERRE S., UTEPOV A., BOBIN C., CHAMBON L., “Determination of X- and gamma-ray emission intensities in the decay of 123I and 177Lu”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112212, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112212.

LOIDL M., FERRER-RIBAS E., GASTALDO L., KAUR A., KEMPF S., NAVICK X.-F., RODRIGUES M., ZAHIR M.L., “A low background setup for low energy X-ray detection in the context of the BabyIAXO/IAXO axion searches”, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 2025, 219, 21-27, DOI: 10.1007/s10909-025-03274-7.

LOURENÇO V., CHAMBON L., GUPTA S., ISNARD H., LALÈRE B., NOIREAUX J., “L’environnement sous surveillance : les prouesses de la spectrométrie de masse”, Actual. Chim., 2025, 508–509, 71–76, DOI: 10.63133/scf.act-chim.2025.508.09.

MÉNESGUEN Y., “L’analyse combinée XRR-GIXRF sans référence pour les couches minces”, Techniques de l'Ingénieur, 2025, R6747, DOI: 10.51257/a-v1-r6747.

MOUGEOT X., CASSETTE P., CHECHEV V.P., DULIEU C., HUANG X., KELLETT M.A., KIBÉDI T., KUZMENKO N.K., LEBLOND S., NICHOLS A.L., ZIMMERMAN B.E., “Evaluations of the decay data of 55Fe, 55Co, 103mRh, 103Pd, 129mSn and 166Ho from the Decay Data Evaluation Project (DDEP)—2024”, Metrologia, 2025, 62, 029001, DOI: 10.1088/1681-7575/adb275.

MOUGEOT X., CRAVEIRO G., LEBLOND S., “Internal bremsstrahlung in beta decays”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112197, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112197.

MOUGEOT X., DULIEU C., HUANG X., KELLETT M.A., LEBLOND S., WANG B., “Evaluations of the decay data of 137mBa, 137Cs, 151Sm and 225Ac from the Decay Data Evaluation Project (DDEP) – 2023”, Metrologia, 2025, 62, 029002, DOI: 10.1088/1681-7575/adb9de.

MOUGEOT X., DULIEU C., KELLETT M.A., LEBLOND S., SINGH A., “Evaluations of the decay data of 6He, 26Al, and 87Rb from the Decay Data Evaluation Project (DDEP) – 2022”, Metrologia, 2025, 62, 039001, DOI: 10.1088/1681-7575/adc1b7.

MOUGEOT X., DULIEU C., KELLETT M.A., KIBÉDI T., LEBLOND S., LUCA A., NICHOLS A.L., ZIMMERMAN B.E., “Evaluations of the decay data of 52Mn, 52mMn, 124I and 131Cs from the Decay Data Evaluation Project (DDEP) – 2021”, Metrologia, 2025, 62, 039002, DOI: 10.1088/1681-7575/adcb2a.

MOUGEOT X., DULIEU C., CHECHEV V.P., GALÁN M., KELLETT M.A., KUZMENKO N.K., LEBLOND S., NICHOLS A.L., “Evaluations of the decay data of 57Co, 76Br, 133mXe and 142Pr from the Decay Data Evaluation Project (DDEP) – 2017”, Metrologia, 2025, 62, 069001, DOI: 10.1088/1681-7575/ae1b01.

MOUGEOT X., “DDEP Evaluation of 40K decay”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112196, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112196.

PHAN D.T., BOBIN J., THIAM C., BOBIN C., “Automatic identification of gamma-emitting radionuclides with spectral variability using a hybrid Machine Learning unmixing method”, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2025, 232, 112654, DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2025.112654.

PIERRARD V., BOLSÉE D., WINANT A., AL-QAAOD A., KRASNIQI F., PÉTERS DE BONHOME M., BOTEK E.M., VAN LAEKEN L., SAPUNDJIEV D., VAN MALDEREN R., MANGOLD A., AMBROZOVA I., SOMMER M., ŠLEGL J., GERONIKOLOU S., GEORGAKILAS A., DORN A., RAPP B., SOLC J., MAREK L., OANCEA C., DOPPLER L., LANGER R., SABIA M., VUOLO M., GRANJA C., “BIOSPHERE measurement campaign from January 2024 to March 2024 and in May 2024: Effects of the solar events on the radiation belts, UV radiation and ozone in the atmosphere”, AIMS Geosciences, 2025, 11, 117-154, DOI: 10.3934/geosci.2025007.

RÖTTGER S., NÖTZEL R., HONIG A., SABOT B., WEINBERG K., “Radon sensor networks for large buildings: balancing the trade-off between energy efficiency and health”, Technisches Messen, 2025, 92, 382-391, DOI: 10.1515/teme-2025-0036.

RUSSO L., BEDOGNI R., CABALLERO-PACHECO M.A., CASTRO-CAMPOY A.I., FRIGI F.L., PIETROPAOLO A., CALAMIDA A., GOMEZ-ROS J.M., TURCHI S., ALLAOUA A., DUCASSE Q., MAGALOTTI N., POZZI F., “A new neutron area monitor with extended energy range”, The European Physical Journal Plus, DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06348-3.

SABOT B., CASSETTE P., LÉPY M.-C., PIERRE S., MARTIN R., MITEV K., “Development of a radon-in-water primary standard”, Metrologia, 2025, 62, 035010, DOI: 10.1088/1681-7575/addf52.

SMOLSKY J., LEACH K.G., ABELLS R., AMARO P., ANDOCHE A., BORBRIDGE K., BRAY C., CANTOR R., DIERCKS D., FRETWELL S., FRIEDRICH S., GILLESPIE A., GUERRA M., HALL A., HARRIS C.N., HARRIS J.T., HAYEN L.M., HERVIEUX P.-A., HINKLE C., KIM G.-B., KIM I., LAMM A., LENNARZ V., LORDI J., MACHADO J., MARINO A., MCKEEN D., MOUGEOT X., PONCE F., RUIZ C., SAMANTA A., SANTOS J.P., STONE-WHITEHEAD C., TAYLOR J., TEMPLET J., UPADHYAYULA S., WAGNER L., WARBURTON W.K., “Direct experimental constraints on the spatial extent of a neutrino wavepacket”, Nature, 2025, 638, 640–644, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08479-6.

TODOROV V., CASSETTE P., JORDANOV V., IVANOV S., STOYCHEVA H., GEORGIEV S., SABOT B., MITEV K., “Design of a new Compton-TDCR spectrometer at Sofia University for the characterization of Liquid Scintillation cocktails”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112194, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112194.

TODOROV V., MITEV K., CASSETTE P., SABOT B., “Investigation of the possible effect of the accidental coincidences correction on the determination of kB value by efficiency variation with grey filters”, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2025, 334, 5943-5950, DOI: 10.1007/s10967-025-10173-4.

TODOROV V., CASSETTE P., GEORGIEV S., SABOT B., MITEV K., “Automatic system for testing PMT photocathode homogeneity”, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2025, 334, 5919-5931, DOI: 10.1007/s10967-025-10028-y.

UTEPOV A., LÉPY M.-C., MÉNESGUEN Y., SABOT B., CHAMBON L., LOURENÇO V., “Reference-free measurement of K X-ray emission intensities in the decay of 93mNb”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112135, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112135.

UTEPOV A., LÉPY M.-C., MÉNESGUEN Y., CHAMBON L., “Reference-free measurement of photon emission intensities in the decay of standard radionuclides”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2025, 226, 112159, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.112159.

VALLIÈRES S., FILLION-GOURDEAU F., FOURMAUX S., POUPART-RAÏCHE B., DIETRICH N., BEIER N.F., LELIÈVRE R., CATRIX E., MALTAIS J., HUSSEIN A.E., ANTICI P., LÉGARÉ F., MACLEAN S., “High average-flux laser-driven neutron source”, Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-66535-9.

VINCHON T., HMEDE R., DUCASSE Q., ALAYA M., MONANGE W., BEZ J., LELIÈVRE R., TROMPIER F., “Application of Convolution Neural Network for Unfolding Simulated Neutron Spectra of an Activation Spectrometer”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2025.3634685.

BORDY J.-M., “Utilisation des rayonnements ionisants pour le diagnostic médical et la radiothérapie”, Conférence Les mesures et la santé (150e anniversaire de la Convention du mètre), LNE 150 Ans, Paris, France, 13 février 2025.

BORDY J.-M., KHATTABI O., CHARDEUR C., LAHLAL K., PLAGNARD J., “Low background facility for ionizing radiation at LNE-LNHB: Design and traceability”, International Metrology Congress CIM2025, Lyon, France, 11-14 mars 2025.

MOUGEOT X., “Improved Theory of Beta Spectra”, IAEA Technical Meeting on Nuclear Data Needs for Antineutrino Spectra Applications, Séoul, Corée, 7-11 avril 2025.

CHAMBON L., AMARAL SARAIVA M., “Current and future applications of mass spectrometry”, Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry Users' Meeting (IRMS 2025), NPL, Royaume-Uni, 15-16 mai 2025.

BORDY J.-M., “Table ronde « Mesurer le monde – les clés pour comprendre »”, Académie des Sciences, Institut de France, Paris, France, 12 juin 2025.

DJAROUM M., FITTON I., LEFEVRE J., PLAGNARD J., VAN NGOC TY C., BORDY J.-M., “Traceability in terms of average glandular dose within Quality Assurance conditions for digital Mammography in breast cancer screening”, International Conference on Advances in Radiation Oncology ICARO-4, Vienne, Autriche, 2-5 juin 2025.

LOIDL M., “Physics and Application of Magnetic Microcalorimeters”, 21st International Conference on Low Temperature Detectors (LTD21), Santa Fe, Nouveau-Mexique, USA, 1-6 juin 2025.

DRENNE Q., “Development of a 4π MMC-based detector for high-resolution beta spectrometry”, 21st International Conference on Low Temperature Detectors (LTD21), Santa Fe, Nouveau-Mexique, USA, 1-6 juin 2025.

LEBLOND S., CRAVEIRO G., “Improved decay data of ^103mRh, ¹⁰⁶Rh and ^106mRh”, International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology (ND 2025), Madrid, Espagne, 22-27 juin 2025.

QUEVAUVILLERS D., “Measurement and estimation of secondary neutrons in so-called ‘monoenergetic’ fields. Routine measurement implementation on AMANDE facility by the time-of-flight method”, 9th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA 2025), Valence, Espagne, 16-20 juin 2025.

PETIT M., “Development of a possible secondary standard for determine the neutrons emission rates from ²⁵²Cf and ²⁴¹Am-Be calibration sources”, 9th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA 2025), Valence, Espagne, 16-20 juin 2025.

MOBIO E., “Characterization of thermal and epithermal contributions in a neutron field using Neutron Activation Analysis, the NFM detector, and MCNP simulations”, 9th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA 2025), Valence, Espagne, 16-20 juin 2025.

KANJ A., “Neutron/gamma discrimination with proportional counter using artificial intelligence”, 9th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA 2025), Valence, Espagne, 16-20 juin 2025.

DUCASSE Q., “MCNP-based study and validation of scattered neutrons for neutron metrology”, 9th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA 2025), Valence, Espagne, 16-20 juin 2025.

VINCHON T., “Unfolding method based on Artificial Neural Network. Application to a neutron activation detector dedicated to criticity and comparison with Bayesian method and simulation results”, 9th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA 2025), Valence, Espagne, 16-20 juin 2025.

BORDY J.-M., RAVAT O., NOVAIN F., LOPEZ G., “Mise en place du suivi dosimétrique du cristallin et de lunettes radio-protégées sur les établissements Orano La Hague et Melox”, Congrès National de Radioprotection - SFRP 2025, La Baule, France, 17-19 juin 2025.

MOUGEOT X., Organisation d’un workshop international dans le cadre de l’Espace de Structure Nucléaire Théorique (ESNT) du CEA/Irfu, « Probing nuclear structure with beta-decay energy spectra », CEA Saclay, France, 7-10 juillet 2025.

KHATTABI O., BORDY J.-M., “AHEAD Ultra High dose rate dosimetry”, Séminaire scientifique & technologique, Grenoble, France, 17-19 novembre 2025.

THOMAS Q., “Mesure et estimation des énergies secondaires dans les champs dits « mono énergétiques » et mise en œuvre de routines de mesure sur l’installation AMANDE par la méthode du temps de vol”, Journées des Laboratoires Associés de Radiophysique et de Dosimétrie (LARD), Paris, France, 2025.

MOBIO E., “Conception d’un champ neutronique majoritairement épithermique et sa caractérisation : mesures par activation neutronique de feuilles de ¹⁹⁷Au et développement d’une méthode originale utilisant le nouveau détecteur NFM”, Journées des Laboratoires Associés de Radiophysique et de Dosimétrie (LARD), Paris, France, 2025 (Lauréate du prix Daniel Blanc 2025).

AGNES P., ALBUQUERQUE I., ALEXANDER T., MOUGEOT X., et al., “Search for dark matter annual modulation with DarkSide-50”, Physical Review D, 2024, 110, 102006, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.110.102006.

ANDOCHE A., MOUAWAD L., HERVIEUX P.-A., MOUGEOT X., MACHADO J., SANTOS J. P., “Influence of atomic modeling on electron capture and shaking processes”, Physical Review A, 2024, 109, 032826, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.109.032826.

BARAVAGLIO M., SABOT B., MADDALENA F., BIROWOSUTO M., DANG C., DUJARDIN C., MAHLER B., “Energy deposition in liquid scintillators composed of CsPbBr3 colloidal nanocrystal dispersions”, Nanoscale, 2024, 16, 17176-17186, DOI: 10.1039/d4nr02401i.

BLIDEANU V., BEHAL R., BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., GLAGOLEV V., LEDOUX X., MRAZEK J., RAPP B., SIMECKOVA E., “Experimental assessment and analysis of calculations accuracy for the neutron-induced radio-isotope creation in copper parts of radiotherapy accelerators”, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 2024, 557, 165553, DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2024.165553.

BLIDEANU V., BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., B. RAPP, “Neutron spectra from photonuclear reactions: Performance testing of Monte-Carlo particle transport simulation codes”, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 2024, 549, 165292, DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2024.165292.

BLIDEANU V., BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., RAPP B., “Neutron detection in mixed short-pulsed fields with intense photon flashes for LINAC-based active interrogation applications”, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 2024, 1064, 169403, DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2024.169403.

BUFFLER A., HUTTON T., JARVIE E., BABUT R., “A compact scintillator-based detector for high energy neutron spectrometry”, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2024, 220, July, DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2024.111698.

BUOHADIDA M., HMEDE R., BROVCHENKO M., MONANGE W., VINCHON T., DUISCASSE Q. and TROMPIER F., “Exploration of genetic algorithms to build a balanced neutron spectra dataset useful to train unfolding techniques based on artificial neural networks”, European Physical Journal Web of Conferences, 2024, 302, 17011, DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/202430217011.

CARLINI A., BOBIN C., PAINDAVOINE M., THEVENIN M., “A methodology for alpha particles identification in liquid scintillation using a cost-efficient Artificial Neural Network”, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 2024, 1064, 169369, DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2024.169369.

CHASAPOGLOU S., MICHALOPOULOU V., KOKKORIS M., VLASTOU R., AXIOTIS M., LAGOYANNIS A., LEDERERWOODS C., BABUT R., MAGALOTTI N., “Cross-section measurements of neutron-induced reactions on Ge isotopes in the neutron energy range 14.0-18.9 MeV”, Physical Review C, 2024, 110, 4, pp.044612.

CRAVEIRO G., LEBLOND S., MOUGEOT X., VIVIER M., “Unfolding experimental distortions in beta-spectrometry”, Frontiers in Physics, 2024, 12, 1435615, DOI: 10.3389/fphy.2024.1435615.

DarkSide-50 Collaboration, MOUGEOT X., “Long-term temporal stability of the DarkSide-50 dark matter detector”, Journal of Instrumentation, 2024, 19, P05057, DOI: 10.1088/1748-0221/19/05/P05057.

ELVIRA V. H., LÉPY M.-C., MÉNESGUEN Y., MELHEM S., “Radionuclide-free efficiency calibration of an HPGe detector using monochromatic photon beams calibrated with a cryogenic radiometer”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2024, 203, 111087, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.111087.

GEOGRIEV S., DIMITROVA I., PRESSYANOV D., SABOT B., MICHIELSEN N., BONDIGUEL S., MITEV K., “Studies on the retrospective thoron measurements by CDs/DVDs: A posteriori calibration and influence of environmental factors”, Radiation Measurements, 2024, 175, 107147, DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2024.107147.

HENNING G., CHEBBOUBI A., DE SAINT-JEAN C., ESTIENNE M., FALLOT M., GIOT L., KERVENO M., LITAIZE O., MOUGEOT X., PORTA A., SEROT O., VALLET V., “Need of precise nuclear structure data for reactor studies”, European Physical Journal - Nuclear Sciences and Technologies, 2024, 10, 6, DOI: 10.1051/epjn/2024007.

HIGGINSON D. P., LELIÈVRE R., VASSURA L., GUGIU M. M., BORGHESI M., BERNSTEIN L. A., BLEUEL D. L., GOLDBLUM B. L., GREEN A., HANNACHI F., KAR S., KISYOV S., QUENTIN L., SCHROER M., TARISIEN M., WILLI O., ANTICI P., NEGOITA F., ALLAOUA A. and FUCHS J., “Global characterization of a laser-generated neutron source”, Journal of Plasma Physics, 2024, 90, 8, 905900308, DOI: 10.1017/S0022377824000618.

JURCZAK J., RAPP B., BORDY J.-M., JOSSET S., DUFRENEIX S., “Defining field output factors in small fields based on dose area product measurements: a feasibility study”, Medical Physics, 2024, 51, 3677-3686, DOI: 10.1002/mp.16950.

KANJ A., LYNDE C., CARREL F., BEN MOSBAH M., VENARA J., EL BITAR Z., ROUSSEAU M., BABUT R., “Measurement of the response function of a custom plastic scintillator using monoenergetic neutron and proton sources”, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 2024, 71, 9, 2133-2139, DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2024.3381252.

KANJ A., LYNDE C., CARREL F., FRANGVILLE C., THIAM C., BEN MOSBAH M., VENARA J., “Performance of deconvolution codes (MAXED, GRAVEL, MLEM) for neutron spectrometry of radioactive source using plastic scintillator simulated data”, Radiation Measurements, 2024, 176, 107206, DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2024.107206.

LEBLOND S., “DDEP re-evaluation of the radioactive decay scheme of 137Cs”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2024, 206, 111191, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111191.

LELIÈVRE R., CATRIX E., VALLIÈRES S., FOURMAUX S., ALLAOUA A., ANTHONIPILLAI V., ANTICI P., DUISCASSE Q. and FUCHS J., “High repetition-rate 0.5 Hz broadband neutron source driven by the Advanced Laser Light Source”, Physics of Plasmas, 2024, 31, 9, 093106, DOI: 10.1063/5.0218582.

LELIÈVRE R., YAO W., WALTENSPIEL T., COHEN I., ANTHONIPILLAI V., BECK A., COHEN E., MICHAELI D., POMERANTZ I., GAUTIER D. C., TROMPIER F., DUISCASSE Q., KOSEOGLU P., SODERSTROM P.-A., MATHIEU F., ALLAOUA A. and FUCHS J., “A Comprehensive Characterization of the Neutron Fields Produced by the Apollon Petawatt Laser”, European Physical Journal Plus, 2024, 139, 11, 1035, DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-024-05679-x.

LÉPY M.-C., THIAM C., ANAGNOSTAKIS M., COSAR C., DE BLAS A., DIKMEN H., DUCH M., GALEA R., GANEA M., HURTADO S., KARFOPOULOS K., LUCA A., LUTTER G., MITSIOS I., PERSSON H., POTIRIADIS C., RÖTTGER S., SALPADIMOS N., SAVVA M., SIMA O., THANH T., TOWNSON R., VARGAS A., VASILOPOULOU T., VERHEYEN L., VIDMAR T., “A benchmark for Monte Carlo simulations in Gamma-ray spectrometry Part II: True coincidence summing correction factors”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2024, 204, 111109, DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.111109.

MARIE-LUCE R., MAI P., LEROUGE F., CHEREF Y., PIERRE S., SABOT B., CHAPUT F., DUJARDIN C., “Real-time detection and discrimination of radioactive gas mixtures using nanoporous inorganic scintillators”, Nature Photonics, 2024, 18, 1037-1043, DOI: 10.1038/s41566-024-01507-x.

MÜLLER M., RODRIGUES M., BEYER J., LOIDL M., KEMPF S., “Magnetic microcalorimeters for primary activity standardization within the EMPIR project PrimA-LTD”, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 2024, 214, 263-271, DOI: 10.1007/s10909-024-03048-7.

ORFANO M., PEREGO J., BEZUIDENHOUT C. X., VILLA I., LORENZI R., SABOT B., PIERRE S., BRACCO S., PIVA S., COMOTTI A., MONGUZZI A., “Reabsorption-free scintillating hetero-ligand MOF crystals activated by ultrafast energy transfer”, Advanced Functional Materials, 2024, 34, 2404480, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202404480.

PAULSEN M., RANITZSCH P. C.-O., LOIDL M., RODRIGUES M., KOSSERT K., MOUGEOT X., SINGH A., LEBLOND S., BEYER J., BOCKHORN L., ENSS C., WEGNER M., KEMPF S., NÄHLE O., “High precision measurement of the 99Tc β spectrum”, Physical Review C, 2024, 110, 055503, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.110.055503.

PHAN D. T., BOBIN J., THIAM C., BOBIN C., “A hybrid Machine Learning unmixing method for automatic analysis of γ-spectra with spectral variability”, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 2024, 1060, 169028, DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2023.169028.

PLAGNARD J., LEFÈVRE J., “X-ray spectrometry for calculating conversion coefficients from air kerma to operational quantities in radiation protection”, Journal of Radiological Protection, 2024, 44, 031506, DOI: 10.1088/1361-6498/ad6777.

ROBERTS N., HORWOOD N., VYKYDAL Z., PARK H., KIM J., PEREIRA W., DA FONSECA E., THIAM C., HUI Z., DEWEY M., MUMM H., HARANO H., MATSUMOTO T., MASUDA A., MANABE S., ARCHAMBAULT J., MOISEEV N., DIDYK A., “International comparison of measurements of neutron source emission rate (2016-2021) - CCRI(III)-K9.Cf.2016”, Metrologia, 2024, 61, 06001, DOI: 10.1088/0026-1394/61/1A/06001.

SABOT B., DUTSOV C., CASSETTE P., MITEV K., HAMEL M., BERTRAND G. H., KHEIRREDDINE L., DUJARDIN C., “A compact detector system for simultaneous measurements of the light yield non-linearity and timing properties of scintillators”, Scientific Reports, 2024, 14, 6960, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57186-9.

SCHWEIZER P., MÉNESGUEN Y., LÉPY M.-C., BRACKX E., DUCHATEAU M., JONNARD P., “High-accuracy experimental determination of photon mass attenuation coefficients of transition metals and lithium fluoride in the ultra-soft energy range”, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2024, 26, 1258712593, DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00500g.

TODOROV V., GEORGIEV S., HAMEL M., DUTSOV C., SABOT B., DIMITROVA I., MITEV K., “Evaluation of radon absorption and detection properties of a plastic scintillator developed for PSD measurements”, Measurement, 2024, 231, 114554, DOI: 10.1016/j.measurement.2024.114554.

ZAHIR MOSTAFA L., RODRIGUES M., LOIDL M., KAUR A., “Energy non-linearity study of a high-resolution metallic magnetic calorimeter”, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2024, 220, 111730, DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2024.111730.

QUEVAUVILLERS D., "Neutron characterization of scintillators for neutron metrology from 100 keV to 22 MeV", ARIEL - H2020 Final Workshop, Paris, France, 19 January 2024.

MÉNESGUEN Y., "Reference-free Combined X-ray Reflectivity and Grazing Incidence X-ray Fluorescence Analysis: Metrological and Technical Aspects", Conférence SPIE “Optical Systems Design “, Strasbourg, France, 7-11 April 2024.

PETIT M., "Radioprotection and medical applications: EURADOS benchmark for testing nuclear models (20-200 MeV on light nucleus)", JEFF meeting, NEA-Boulogne-Billancourt (France), 24 April 2024.

BLIDEANU V., BESNARD-VAUTERIN C., RAPP B., "Photoneutron production at electron LINACs: testing performance of Monte-Carlo simulations and impact on relevant applications", 16th Workshop on Shielding Aspects of Accelerators, Targets and Irradiation Facilities  (SATIF 2024), Rome, Italy, 28-31 May 2024.

BOBIN C., "Premiers résultats de la caractérisation du compteur Hidex 300 SL au LNHB", CETAMA GT18, 10 June 2024.

BOBIN C., "Traçabilité métrologique en médecine nucléaire, Isotopes thérapeutiques pour les cancers de la prostate", Journées scientifiques de la SFPM, Dijon, France, 12-14 June 2024.

DJAROUM M., FITTON I., LEFÈVRE J., PLANGNARD J., VAN NGOC TY C., BORDY J.-M., "Traçabilité de la dose glandulaire moyenne : méthodologie de mesure et modélisations des spectres d'un mammographe numérique", Journées Scientifiques de la SFPM, Dijon, France, 12-14 June 2024.

MOUGEOT X., "Single beta spectral shapes and theories", Conférence Neutrino 2024, Milan, Italy, 16-22 June 2024.

LEBLOND S., "International Initiative on X-ray Fundamental Parameters Status and next steps", Conférence EXRS 2024, Athènes, Greece, 24-28 June 2024.

MÉNESGUEN Y., "Unveiling elemental depth-profile in thick samples by Angular-Resolved X-Ray Fluorescence", Conférence EXRS 2024, Athènes, Greece, 24-28 June 2024.

UTEPOV A., "New experimental determination of L shell fluorescence yields and Coster Kronig transition factors of platinum", Conférence EXRS 2024, Athènes, Greece, 24-28 June 2024.

QUEVAUVILLERS D., “Caractérisation de scintillateurs pour la métrologie des neutrons”, Journées des LARD, Cadarache, France, 2-3 July 2024.

HERTAY S., “Passage en configuration finale du détecteur de neutrons μ-TPC avant sa caractérisation primaire”, Journées des LARD, Cadarache, France, 2-3 July 2024.

MOBIO E., “Conception d'un champ de neutrons épithermiques et caractérisation par une méthode de spectrométrie”, Journées des LARD, Cadarache, France, 2-3 July2024.

ANTICO P., D’AMORA G., DANIEL C., MONGUZZI A., COMOTTI A., PEREGO J., ORFANO M., DUJARDIN C., SABOT B., “Development of New Composite Scintillators Based on Poly(divinylbenzene) Aerogels with PPO and POPOP Dopants”, 17th International Conference on Scintillating Materials and their Applications (SCINT 2024), Milan, Italy, 8-12 July 2024.

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Ultra-intense lasers represent a new way to produce neutron fields, more compact than nuclear reactors or accelerators and with fewer radiological constraints than these conventional sources. The electric field induced by an ultra-intense laser pulse within a micrometer-sized target can reach several TV/m, allowing for the acceleration of protons to several tens of MeV. These protons can then be intercepted by a second target, called a converter, in which they induce nuclear reactions and thus produce neutrons. This technique, known as the pitcher-catcher technique, is capable of generating very intense fluxes (> 10¹⁷ n/cm²/s) at energies up to several tens of MeV, making it possible to envision applications such as neutron imaging or the laboratory reproduction of the rapid nucleosynthesis process responsible for the creation of the heaviest elements.

To demonstrate the feasibility of these applications and ensure the radiological protection of these laser facilities, these neutron fields must be optimally characterized. Detectors with ultra-fast electronics or passive detectors appear to be most compatible to the characteristics of laser-driven neutron sources (very brief and intense emissions, noisy environment, etc.).

This thesis work focuses on optimizing the development of a neutron activation spectrometer (SPAC), particularly suitable for measuring intense neutron fields with a strong gamma component. In addition to simulations of the expected source terms and detector responses using Geant4 & MCNP Monte Carlo codes, bubble dosimeters, Time-of-Flight detectors and activation samples were used on various laser facilities such as ALLS (Canada) and Apollon (France), to optimize and characterize the produced neutron emissions.

ultra-Intense lasers, neutrons, laser-driven neutron sources, detection, nuclear physics

Full document (EN): HAL-04957025