The INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati was established in 1954 to host an electro-synchrotron, the first particle accelerator built in Italy, and since then played a crucial role in the field of nuclear and particle physics and for the development of acceleration and detection technologies. Within this historical tradition, a workshop was organized at LNF in the framework of the Nuclear Physics Mid Term Plan Italy, an initiative of the Nuclear Physics Division of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, to discuss the detection techniques employed in nuclear physics and to identify the open issues to be addressed to realize the scientific programs of the experiments foreseen in a midterm perspective. The present report summarizes the outcome of the discussions.

Acute skin toxicity after radiation treatments highlights the need for improved dose monitoring and measurement, as the treatment planning system does not accurately estimate skin dose. Wearable radiation detectors may be the solution for mostin vivodosimetry needs, but they require innovative materials. The purpose of this work is to overcome the challenges that limit accurate skin dosimetry by exploring the use of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) fabricated on a flexible polyimide substrate for direct radiation detection. The a-Si:H detector was fabricated on a 125μm polyimide substrate with a thickness of 3.6-10μm. The detector's response to the build-up region of the percentage depth dose (PDD) of the MV photon beam was compared to Geant4 radiation transport simulations and benchmarked to Attix ionization chamber measurements. Angular dependency and surface field factors at the phantom surface were compared to Attix IC. The PDD measurement is within 2% of Geant4's simulation and the Attix chamber's response from 150m to 25 mm in a plastic water phantom. All samples showed linear dose responses with 0.37% reproducibility. The a-Si:H device matches the Attix chamber for surface field factor measurements (6-10 MV photon beams, for 5 to 25 cm field sizes). The angular dependence (-60° to +60°) compared to the Attix IC confirms the sensor's WED of 150 ± 5µm. This study demonstrates that a-Si:H sensors on flexible plastic substrates have a potential for accurate surface dose measurements and agree with reference detectors. This thin, flexible detector provides real time measurements and is stable under high radiation doses. The possibility to assemble with ease an array of a-Si:H pixels over large areas with different sizes and shapes, makes this technology attractive forin vivodosimetry.

Different reactions channels induced by the 18O + 40Ca collisions at 275 MeV incident energy are analysed within a a multichannel approach. Experimental data from many reactions are simultaneously measured and a consistent analysis is performed with the same reaction and structure frameworks. The results are part of the NUMEN project. In particular, the elastic and inelastic scattering, one- and two-proton transfer, one-neutron transfer, and single charge exchange reactions are explored. The experimental data are well described by the theoretical calculations, performed by including microscopic nuclear structure inputs.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) devices on flexible substrates are currently being studied for application in dosimetry and beam flux measurements. The necessity of in vivo dosimetry requires thin devices with maximal transparency and flexibility. For this reason, a thin (<10 µm) a-Si:H device deposited on a thin polyimide sheet is a very valid option for this application. Furthermore, a-Si:H is a material that has an intrinsically high radiation hardness. In order to develop these devices, the HASPIDE (Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Pixel Detectors) collaboration has implemented two different device configurations: n-i-p type diodes and charge-selective contact devices.Charge-selective contact-based devices have been studied for solar cell applications and, recently, the above-mentioned collaboration has tested these devices for X-ray dose measurements. In this paper, the HASPIDE collaboration has studied the X-ray and proton response of charge-selective contact devices deposited on Polyimide. The linearity of the photocurrent response to X-ray versus dose-rate has been assessed at various bias voltages. The sensitivity to protons has also been studied at various bias voltages and the wide range linearity has been tested for fluxes in the range from 8.3 × 107 to 2.49 × 1010 p/(cm2 s).

The present work is inherent to the NUMEN project that aims at providing data-driven information for the nuclear matrix elements of the neutrinoless double beta decay through the study of heavy-ion induced double charge exchange reactions. This is a formidable task since during a nuclear collision, the same final states may be populated through various reaction mechanisms. In this respect, understanding the degree of competition between successive nucleon transfer and charge exchange reactions is crucial for the proper description of the meson-exchange mechanism. To this purpose, the reaction dynamics in the 18O+48Ti collision were sought by measuring a plethora of reaction channels under the same experimental conditions. The 48Ti was chosen as target since it is the daughter nucleus of 48Ca in double beta decay. The relevant experiment was performed at the MAGNEX facility of INFN-LNS in Catania. In this contribution, the status of the analysis for the 48Ti(18O,18F)48Sc single charge exchange reaction will be presented.

The ToASt ASIC is a 64-channel integrated circuit developed for the readout of the Silicon strip detector project designed to be placed in the Micro-Vertex Detector of the PANDA experiment. ToASt is implemented in a commercial 110 nm CMOS technology and can provide information on the position, time, and deposited energy of the particle passing through the detector. Its time resolution is given by its 160 MHz master clock. The ASIC has been developed in the framework of the European FAIRnet project. The chip has been characterized electrically both standalone and coupled with sensors, with focus on its noise performances. It has also been tested for radiation tolerance, both in terms of Total Ionizing Dose and Single Event Upset. In particular, this work aims to guarantee that the studied ASICs can sustain the levels of ionizing radiation expected in the PANDA experiment and to study the noise characteristics for the two polarities of the ASIC.

This paper presents a comprehensive study of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si)-based detectors, utilizing electrical characterization, Raman spectroscopy, photoemission, and inverse photoemission techniques. The unique properties of a-Si have sparked interest in its application for radiation detection in both physics and medicine. Although amorphous silicon (a-Si) is inherently a highly defective material, hydrogenation significantly reduces defect density, enabling its use in radiation detector devices. Spectroscopic measurements provide insights into the intricate relationship between the structure and electronic properties of a-Si, enhancing our understanding of how specific configurations, such as the choice of substrate, can markedly influence detector performance. In this study, we compare the performance of a-Si detectors deposited on two different substrates: crystalline silicon (c-Si) and flexible Kapton. Our findings suggest that detectors deposited on Kapton exhibit reduced sensitivity, despite having comparable noise and leakage current levels to those on crystalline silicon. We hypothesize that this discrepancy may be attributed to the substrate material, differences in film morphology, and/or the alignment of energy levels. Further measurements are planned to substantiate these hypotheses.

The search for neutrino-less double beta decay has attracted much interest in the last years due to the extraordinary consequences that could derive from its observation. In the view to provide experimental information on the nuclear matrix elements involved in the expression of neutrino-less double beta decay half-life, the NUMEN project is measuring cross-sections of double charge exchange and other quasi-elastic nuclear reactions using the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer. In particular, the newly proposed multichannel approach, applied both to the experimental and theoretical analysis, will be discussed.

This paper presents the design and the characterization of a front-end circuit, designed in 28 nm CMOS, for real-time dosimetry in radiation diagnostics and radiation therapy. The front-end circuit is optimized for sensors made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon. The scheme is based on a current-to-frequency converter to sustain a large range of input currents. Three different programmable solutions have been investigated to be compatible with a wide variety of sensor sizes and applications. The front-end has been designed around three key specifications: an input capacitance between 1 pF and 50 pF, an input current from 100 pA to 2 mu A, and a measurement time ranging from 400 mu s to 60 ns. A first prototype has been fabricated and it is being characterized in laboratory.

Objective.Detectors that can provide accurate dosimetry for microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) must possess intrinsic radiation hardness, a high dynamic range, and a micron-scale spatial resolution. In this work we characterize hydrogenated amorphous silicon detectors for MRT dosimetry, presenting a novel combination of flexible, ultra-thin and radiation-hard features.Approach.Two detectors are explored: an n-type/intrinsic/p-type planar diode (NIP) and an NIP with an additional charge selective layer (NIP + CSC).Results.The sensitivity of the NIP + CSC detector was greater than the NIP detector for all measurement conditions. At 1 V and 0 kGy under the 3T Cu-Cu synchrotron broadbeam, the NIP + CSC detector sensitivity of (7.76 ± 0.01) pC cGy-1outperformed the NIP detector sensitivity of (3.55 ± 0.23) pC cGy-1by 219%. The energy dependence of both detectors matches closely to the attenuation coefficient ratio of silicon against water. Radiation damage measurements of both detectors out to 40 kGy revealed a higher radiation tolerance in the NIP detector compared to the NIP + CSC (17.2% and 33.5% degradations, respectively). Percentage depth dose profiles matched the PTW microDiamond detector's performance to within ±6% for all beam filtrations except in 3T Al-Al due to energy dependence. The 3T Cu-Cu microbeam field profile was reconstructed and returned microbeam width and peak-to-peak values of (51 ± 1)μm and (405 ± 5)μm, respectively. The peak-to-valley dose ratio was measured as a function of depth and agrees within error to the values obtained with the PTW microDiamond. X-ray beam induced charge mapping of the detector revealed minimal dose perturbations from extra-cameral materials.Significance.The detectors are comparable to commercially available dosimeters for quality assurance in MRT. With added benefits of being micron-sized and possessing a flexible water-equivalent substrate, these detectors are attractive candidates for quality assurance,in-vivodosimetry and in-line beam monitoring for MRT and FLASH therapy.

The study of a network of nuclear reactions populated in the 18O + 12C collision is the main topic of the present paper. It was performed to test nuclear structure and reaction theories in describing the full reaction mechanism occurring in the (18O, 18F) single charge exchange nuclear reaction. From the experimental side, an 18O beam was produced at 275 MeV incident energy by the K800 superconducting cyclotron and the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer was used at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare to momentum analyse the ejectiles produced in the nuclear reactions within the same experimental setup. From the theoretical side, the proposed approach consists of analysing the whole network of nuclear reactions in the framework of a unique comprehensive and coherent theoretical calculation. This holistic approach, applied both to the experimental and theoretical analysis, is the main feature and novelty of the work presented here.

The thickness and uniformity characterisation of the first prototypes of thin tellurium and germanium targets evaporated on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite for NUMEN project is reported. The contribution of such targets to the energy resolution on reaction ejectiles is evaluated.

The G-NUMEN array is the future gamma spectrometer of the NUMEN experiment (nuclear matrix element for neutrinoless double beta decay), to be installed around the object point of the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer at the INFN-LNS laboratory. This project aims to explore double-charge exchange (DCE) reactions in order to obtain crucial information about neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ). The primary objective of the G-NUMEN array is to detect the gamma rays emitted from the de-excitation of the excited states that are populated via DCE reactions with a good energy resolution and detection efficiency, amidst a background composed of the transitions from competing reaction channels with far higher cross sections. To achieve this, G-NUMEN signals will be processed in coincidence with those generated by the detection of reaction ejectiles by the MAGNEX focal plane detector (FPD). Under the expected experimental conditions, G-NUMEN detectors will operate at high counting rates, of the order of hundreds of kHz per detector, while maintaining excellent energy and timing resolutions. The complete array will consist of over 100 LaBr3(Ce) scintillators. Initial tests were conducted on the first detectors of the array, allowing for the determination of their performance at high rates.

The NUMEN experiment aims at measuring double charge exchange reaction cross sections using heavy-ion beams of unprecedented intensity on specific isotopes. In order to get data-sets with good statistical significance from challengingly low cross sections it asks for the upgrade of the pre-existing magnetic spectrometer MAGNEX at INFN-LNS, in Catania. These reactions prove to be a way of getting information on the nuclear matrix elements of the neutrino-less double beta decay, the most promising probe to establish the Majorana or Dirac nature of the neutrino, and to evaluate the effective neutrino mass. A new setup for the target system is under development and adequate detectors are under study for the tracking and the identification of heavy ions at the expected rate up to 5 Mpps and for gamma-ray measurements. The tracker is a time projection chamber with electron amplification based on a triple Thick Gas Electron Multiplier (THGEM) foil, the particle identification is performed with telescopes composed of Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Thallium doped Cesium Iodide (CsI(Tl)) sensors, the gamma-ray detection is sustained with Cerium doped Lantanum Bromide (LaBr3(Ce)) scintillator detectors. Here a selection of results of the R&D phase and the integration study are presented.

Double charge exchange (DCE) reactions could provide experimentally driven information about nuclear matrix elements of interest in the context of neutrinoless double-beta decay. To achieve this goal, a detailed description of the reaction mechanism is mandatory. This requires the full characterization of the initial and final-state interactions, which are poorly known for many of the projectile-target systems involved in future DCE studies. Among these, we intend to study the Ne-20 + Te-130 and O-18 + Sn-116 systems at 15.3 AMeV, which are particularly relevant due to their connection with the Te-130 -> Xe-130 and Cd-116 -> Sn-116 double-beta decays. We measure the elastic and inelastic scattering cross-section angular distributions and compare them with theoretical calculations performed in the optical model, one-step distorted wave Born approximation, and coupled-channel approaches using the Sao Paulo double-folding optical potential. A good description of the experimental data in the whole explored range of transferred momenta is obtained provided that couplings with the 2(1)(+) states of the projectile and target are explicitly included within the coupled-channel approach. These results are relevant also in the analysis of other quasi-elastic reaction channels in these systems, in which the same couplings should be included.

Double charge exchange (DCE) reactions could provide experimentally driven information about nuclear matrix elements of interest in the context of neutrinoless double-β decay. To achieve this goal, a detailed description of the reaction mechanism is mandatory. This requires the full characterization of the initial and final-state interactions, which are poorly known for many of the projectile-target systems involved in future DCE studies. Among these, we intend to study the 20Ne + 130Te and 18O + 116Sn systems at 15.3 AMeV, which are particularly relevant due to their connection with the 130Te→130Xe and 116Cd→116Sn double-β decays. We measure the elastic and inelastic scattering cross-section angular distributions and compare them with theoretical calculations performed in the optical model, one-step distorted wave Born approximation, and coupled-channel approaches using the São Paulo double-folding optical potential. A good description of the experimental data in the whole explored range of transferred momenta is obtained provided that couplings with the 21+ states of the projectile and target are explicitly included within the coupled-channel approach. These results are relevant also in the analysis of other quasi-elastic reaction channels in these systems, in which the same couplings should be included.

The search for neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay is currently a key topic in physics, due to its possible wide implications for nuclear physics, particle physics, and cosmology. The NUMEN project aims to provide experimental information on the nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) that are involved in the expression of 0νββ decay half-life by measuring the cross section of nuclear double-charge exchange (DCE) reactions. NUMEN has already demonstrated the feasibility of measuring these tiny cross sections for some nuclei of interest for the 0νββ using the superconducting cyclotron (CS) and the MAGNEX spectrometer at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS.) Catania, Italy. However, since the DCE cross sections are very small and need to be measured with high sensitivity, the systematic exploration of all nuclei of interest requires major upgrade of the facility. R&D for technological tools has been completed. The realization of new radiation-tolerant detectors capable of sustaining high rates while preserving the requested resolution and sensitivity is underway, as well as the upgrade of the CS to deliver beams of higher intensity. Strategies to carry out DCE cross-section measurements with high-intensity beams were developed in order to achieve the challenging sensitivity requested to provide experimental constraints to 0νββ NMEs.

The goal of NUMEN project is to access experimentally driven information on Nuclear Matrix Elements (NME) involved in the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) by accurate measurements of the cross sections of heavy-ion induced double charge-exchange reactions. In particular, the (18O, 18Ne) and (20Ne, 20O) reactions are adopted as tools for β+β+ and β−β− decays, respectively. The experiments are performed at INFN–Laboratory Nazionali del Sud (LNS) in Catania using the Superconducting Cyclotron to accelerate the beams and the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer to detect the reaction products. The measured cross sections are very low, limiting the present exploration to few selected isotopes of interest in the context of typically low-yield experimental runs. In order to make feasible a systematic study of all the candidate nuclei, a major upgrade of the LNS facility is foreseen to increase the experimental yield by more than two orders of magnitude. To this purpose, frontier technologies are being developed for both the accelerator and the detection systems. An update description of the NUMEN project is presented here, focusing on recent achievements from the R&D activity.

The NUMEN experimental activity with accelerated beams is performed at INFN–Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) in Catania using the Superconducting Cyclotron and the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer. The scientific motivation of NUMEN is to extract experiment-driven information on the nuclear matrix elements entering in the expression of the 0νββ decay half-life. The reaction cross sections involved, especially for the double charge exchange process, are very low, thus limiting the present exploration to a few selected isotopes of interest in the context of typically low-yield experimental runs. In order to make feasible a systematic study of all the candidate nuclei, a major upgrade of the LNS facility is foreseen to increase the experimental yield by more than two orders of magnitude. To this purpose, frontier technologies are being developed for the accelerator and the detection systems. An updated description of the choices derived from the recent R&D activity on the target system and MAGNEX focal plane detector is given.

A 64-channel Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) has been designed for the readout of the Silicon Strip Detectors that will equip the Micro Vertex Detector of the PANDA experiment. The ASIC, named ToASt, provides both time of arrival and released energy measurement of the particle crossing the detector.The ASIC is synchronous to a 160 MHz master clock, which also sets the time resolution. The time of arrival of both the rising and the falling edge of the preamplifier outputs are recorded and transmitted, togheter with the channel address, via two serial links. A programmable discharge current is used to reset the front-end amplifier integrating capacitor in order to provide a linear ToT measurement.The ASIC is implemented in a commercial CMOS 0.11 μm technology. The Triple Modular Redundancy technique has been implemented in most of the digital logic to protect the circuit from Single Event Upsets.