Speaker
Description
The compact accelerator-driven fast neutron sources represent cheaper and smaller alternative to research nuclear reactors. They can be used (as a primary or supplementary tool) for many research activities realized at the nuclear reactors, such as the isotope production, sub-surface exploration, material research, neutron activation analysis, nuclear data provisioning, boron neutron capture therapy, neutron imaging, etc. Just as the research nuclear reactors, the compact accelerator-based neutron sources are also capable to be involved in interdisciplinary research. Depending on used neutron source reaction, the neutron fields provided by the accelerator-driven neutron sources represent the useful tools, e.g., for application of neutron activation analysis, material research, and nuclear data validation. For such purposes, the neutron sources that utilize the deuteron or proton beams with energies up to 10 to 30 MeV and thick targets are more convenient. Many compact neutron sources in the world uses the beryllium layers (thick targets), and their neutron fields are based on the p+Be and d+Be source reactions.
Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (NPI CAS) in Rez operates the compact accelerator-driven NG-2 fast neutron source. The NG-2 neutron source uses proton (up to 35 MeV) and deuteron (up to 20 MeV) beams extracted from the isochronous cyclotron U-120M and beryllium target station for broad neutron spectrum production and lithium target station for quasi-monoenergetic neutron field production (the p+Li(C) reaction on thin target). These sources are primarily focused on nuclear data measurement and validation, especially for the future fusion energetics (DEMO and IFMIF-DONES research programs). To extend their experimental utilizations mostly towards some more traditional research reactor applications (such as the neutron activation analysis and material research), the neutron fields generated by the p+Be and d+Be source reactions for various energies of charged particle beams provided by the U-120M cyclotron have been recently studied using the multi-foil activation technique.
The matter of the p+Be and d+Be neutron sources, operated both at the NPI CAS and worldwide, and properties of their neutron energy spectra as well as their utilization for various research activities (such as nuclear data validation, radioanalytical application, materials research) are described in the article.