Precise Measurement of the ⁶³Cu(n,α)⁶⁰Co Cross Section with 14-MeV Neutrons

The ⁶³Cu(n,α)⁶⁰Co cross section has been measured by activation relative to the well-known ²⁷Al(n,α)²⁴Na cross section. The ⁶⁰Co and ²⁴Na activities induced were measured with a 5- × 5-in. NaI(Tl) well-type scintillation detector. The average neutron energy was 14.80 ± 0.02 MeV, with an energy spread of ∼0.3 MeV. As the result, a value of 40.7 mb was obtained for the cross section with an accuracy of approximately ±2.5% (effective standard deviation) on a 1σ confidence level.