Development work for the Detector Array for Energy Measurements of Neutrons (DAEMON)

As one moves away from the stable isotopes and deeper into the neutron-rich region, the likelihood of β-delayed neutron (βn) emission increases. The ability to understand the the neutron emission probabilities and the neutron energy spectrum can reveal highly sensitive details of the nuclear structure that a conventional β-decay study using only γ-ray detection cannot. We propose to build the Detector Array for Energy Mesaurements of Neutrons (DAEMON) that will employ the time-of-flight technique to enable high-resolution energy measurements of the neutrons following βn emission. DAEMON will be used in conjunction with the GRIFFIN and DESCANT spectrometers at the TRIUMF-ISAC radioactive beam facility. The initial trials, performed at the University of Guelph, involving testing the rudimentary geometries of EJ200 plastic scintillators and various electronic parameters of silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays, will be presented. Comparisons of data collected using γ-ray sources with GEANT4 simulations are made.