MONACO v2: Multipurpose and Integrated Data Acquisition System for On-line Neutron and Gamma Measurements

Abstract

The CEA MONACO v2 a multichannel acquisition system dedicated to neutron and gamma measurements. It is unique as it integrates all the following features in one module: automatic generation of saturation curves, automatic generation of pulse discrimination curves, detector pulse characterization using the embedded oscilloscope module, pulse mode acquisitions in count rate or pulse height analysis, fluctuation mode and current mode acquisitions. Sensors are plugged to a single connector and the implemented operating modes run constantly in parallel. Firsly designed for on line local neutron and gamma measurements with gaseous detectors in reactor experiments, the MONACO v2 system will also be available for self-powered detectors thanks to its wide current mode working range. After two years of development, CEA teams tested two MONACO v2 prototypes in the Slovenian TRIGA Mark II research reactor in 2018, using CEA miniature ion chambers and SPNDs. The system is now ready for industrialization to be available on the nuclear instrumentation market.

Radiation measurements in reactor pulse mode at the JSI TRIGA reactor – Power meter based on Cherenkov light intensity measurements

“…The aim of the campaign was to explore the feasibility of utilizing the high neutron flux that can be achieved during reactor pulse mode for testing nuclear instrumentation detectors at the JSI TRIGA research reactor. Additionally, the campaign sought to evaluate the performance of CEA miniature fission with ultra-low fissile coatings and ionization chambers, as well as the MONACO v2 data acquisition system [8][9] at high neutron flux levels.…”

Performance Assessment of a New Digital Readout Electronics for Nuclear Waste Drum Characterization by Photofission

“…The System on Chip (SoC) integrates an FPGA and a Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9. It is based on fully configurable and reproducible Digital Pulse Processing (DPP) tiles associated to each channel and a fully streamed data-flow based on a DDR3-Direct Memory Acces (DMA) architecture [2]. Each channel is A. Elayeb, A. Sari, I. Meleshenkovskii, R. De Stefano, A. Dabat-Blondeau and Y. Moline are with Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, List, F-91120 Palaiseau, France (e-mail: aly.elayeb@cea.fr).…”

Reactor Pulse Operation for Nuclear Instrumentation Detector Testing – Preparation of a Dedicated Experimental Campaign at the JSI TRIGA Reactor

“…counting pulses due to ionizations in the active gas, caused by energetic fission products), and in variance, or Campbell, mode (applicable when pulses are piling up, the signal variance being proportional to the incoming neutron flux) and current mode (pulse number become so high that their individual current are forming a measurable DC current proportional to the neutron and gamma environment). This implementation has been validated through numerous dedicated experimental campaigns, including several campaigns in the JSI TRIGA reactor [9,10]. The current implementation (i.e.…”