Electroluminescent Chamber for Studying the Subbarrier Fission of Transuranium Elements

Abstract

An electroluminescent fission chamber is described, the operation principle of which is based on the optical detection of fission pulses. The use of an optical guide can significantly reduce statistical-measurement errors, lower the gamma-ray background, and increase the resistance to electrical and mechanical interference. Electroluminescence in strong electric fields with a large 10³–10⁴-fold increase in the light intensity allows one to detect individual fission events in the mode of counting. These advantages make it possible to measure the energy dependence of the cross section of the subbarrier fission of transuranium elements with a high resolution in lead in slowing-down spectrometers.