The correct quantification of the dose released in charged particle therapy treatments requires the knowledge of the double differential fragmentation cross section of particles composing both beam and target. The FOOT experiment aims at measuring these cross sections for ions of interest for charged particle therapy applications. The paper describes the performance of the TOF-Wall detector of the experiment. The detector is composed of two layers of 44 cm x 2 cm x 3 mm plastic scintillator bars (20 for each layer), arranged orthogonally and read out by silicon photomultipliers. The detector is designed to identify the charge of fragments ranging from protons to oxygen ions, with a maximum energy of 700 MeV/u, by measuring the energy released in the scintillators and the time of flight with respect to a start counter. In this study, the detector was scanned with carbon ions of energy between 115 MeV/u and 400 MeV/u and with a 60 MeV proton beam. The measurements show an energy resolution (σE/µE) between 6% and 4% and a contribution of the detector to the TOF system time resolution between 25 ps and 20 ps (standard deviation) for carbon ions and between 100 ps and 80 ps for protons.

The FOOT (FragmentatiOn Of Target) experiment is an international project designed to carry out the fragmentation cross-sectional measurements relevant for charged particle therapy (CPT), a technique based on the use of charged particle beams for the treatment of deep-seated tumors. The FOOT detector consists of an electronic setup for the identification of Z ≥ 3 Z\ge 3 fragments and an emulsion spectrometer for Z ≤ 3 Z\le 3 fragments. The first data taking was performed in 2019 at the GSI facility (Darmstadt, Germany). In this study, the charge identification of fragments induced by exposing an emulsion detector, embedding a C 2 H 4 {{\rm{C}}}_{2}{{\rm{H}}}_{4} target, to an oxygen ion beam of 200 MeV/n is discussed. The charge identification is based on the controlled fading of nuclear emulsions in order to extend their dynamic range in the ionization response.

This article presents a few selected developments and future ideas related to the measurement of $$(n,\gamma )$$ ( n , γ ) data of astrophysical interest at CERN n_TOF. The MC-aided analysis methodology for the use of low-efficiency radiation detectors in time-of-flight neutron-capture measurements is discussed, with particular emphasis on the systematic accuracy. Several recent instrumental advances are also presented, such as the development of total-energy detectors with $$\gamma $$ γ -ray imaging capability for background suppression, and the development of an array of small-volume organic scintillators aimed at exploiting the high instantaneous neutron-flux of EAR2. Finally, astrophysics prospects related to the intermediate i neutron-capture process of nucleosynthesis are discussed in the context of the new NEAR activation area.