A prototype compact accelerator-based neutron source (CANS) for Canada

Issue title: UCANS-web 2020

Guest editors: David Baxter, Thomas Gutberlet, Yoshie Otake, Frédéric Ott and Xuewu Wang

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Laxdal, Robert^a | Maharaj, Dalini D.^{b; c} | Abbaslou, Mina^{a; d} | Tun, Zin^e | Banks, Daniel^e | Gottberg, Alexander^c | Marchetto, Marco^a | Rodriguez, Eduardo^a | Yamani, Zahra^f | Fritzsche, Helmut^f | Rogge, Ronald^f | Pan, Ming^{g; h; i} | Kester, Oliver^a | Marquardt, Drew^{b; g; *}

Affiliations: [a] Accelerator Division, TRIUMF, BC, Canada | [b] Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, ON, Canada | [c] Targets & Ion Sources, TRIUMF, BC, Canada | [d] Department of Physics, University of Victoria, BC, Canada | [e] TVB Associates Inc., ON, Canada | [f] Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, ON, Canada | [g] Department of Physics, University of Windsor, ON, Canada | [h] Radiation Oncology, Windsor Regional Hospital, ON, Canada | [i] Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, ON, Canada

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: drew.marquardt@uwindsor.ca.

Abstract: Canada’s access to neutron beams for neutron scattering was significantly curtailed in 2018 with the closure of the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, Canada. New sources are needed for the long-term; otherwise, access will only become harder as the global supply shrinks. Compact Accelerator-based Neutron Sources (CANS) offer the possibility of an intense source of neutrons with a capital cost significantly lower than spallation sources. In this paper, we propose a CANS for Canada. The proposal is staged with the first stage offering a medium neutron flux, linear accelerator-based approach for neutron scattering that is also coupled with a boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) station and a positron emission tomography (PET) isotope production station. The first stage will serve as a prototype for a second stage: a higher brightness, higher cost facility that could be viewed as a national centre for neutron applications.

Keywords: Compact accelerator-based neutron source, CANS, accelerator driven neutron source, materials research

DOI: 10.3233/JNR-210012

Journal: Journal of Neutron Research, vol. 23, no. 2-3, pp. 99-117, 2021