New perspectives for neutron capture measurements in the upgraded CERN-n_TOF Facility

Abstract

The n_TOF facility has just undergone in 2021 a major upgrade with the installation of its third generation spallation target that has been designed to optimize the performance of the two n_TOF time-of-flight lines. This contribution describes the key features and limitations for capture measurements in the two beam lines prior to the target upgrade and presents first results of (n,$\gamma$) measurements carried out as part of the commissioning of the upgraded facility. In particular, the energy resolution, a key factor for both increasing the signal-to-background ratio and obtaining accurate resonance parameters, has been clearly improved for the 20 m long vertical beam-line with the new target design while keeping the remarkably high resolution of the long beamline n_TOF-EAR1. The improvements in the n_TOF neutron beam-lines need to be accompanied by improvements in the instrumentation. A review is given on recent detector R&D projects aimed at tackling the existing challenges and further improving the capabilities of this facility.