  Since two decades, laser-driven neutron emissions are studied as they
represent a complementary source to conventional neutron sources, with further
more different characteristics (i.e. shorter bunch duration and higher number
of neutrons per bunch). We report here a global, thorough characterization of
the neutron fields produced at the Apollon laser facility using the secondary
laser beam (F2). A Double Plasma Mirror (DPM) was used to improve the temporal
contrast of the laser which delivers pulses of 24 fs duration, a mean on-target
energy of ~10 J and up to 1 shot/min. The interaction of the laser with thin
targets (few tens or hundreds of nm) in ultra-high conditions produced enhanced
proton beams (up to 35 MeV), which were then used to generate neutrons via the
pitcher-catcher technique. The characterization of these neutron emissions is
presented, with results obtained from both simulations and measurements using
several diagnostics (activation samples, bubble detectors and Time-of-Flight
detectors), leading to a neutron yield of ~$4.10^{7}$ neutrons/shot. Similar
neutron emissions were observed during shots with and without DPM, while fewer
X-rays are produced when the DPM is used, making this tool interesting to
adjust the neutrons/X-rays ratio for some applications like combined
neutron/X-ray radiography.
