VITA high flux neutron source for various applications

Issue title: UCANS IX Online Conference

Guest editors: David Baxter, Thomas Gutberlet, Koichi Kino, Yoshiaki Kiyanagi, Hiroaki Kumada, Yoshi Otake, Masato Takamura and Xuewu Wang

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Bikchurina, Marina^{a; b; *} | Bykov, Tymofey^{a; b} | Byambatseren, Enkhtsetseg^c | Ibrahem, Ibrahem^b | Kasatov, Dmitrii^{a; b} | Kolesnikov, Iaroslav^{a; b} | Konovalova, Viktoriia^b | Koshkarev, Alexey^{a; b} | Makarov, Aleksandr^{a; b} | Ostreinov, Georgii^{a; b} | Savinov, Sergey^{a; b} | Sokolova, Evgeniia^{a; b} | Sorokin, Igor^{a; b} | Shchudlo, Ivan^{a; b} | Sycheva, Tatiana^{a; b} | Verkhovod, Gleb^{a; b} | Taskaev, Sergey^{a; b}

Affiliations: [a] Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk, Russia | [b] Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia | [c] Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk, Russia

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: M.I.Bikchurina@inp.nsk.su.

Abstract: A high flux neutron source based on a vacuum-insulated tandem accelerator (VITA) and a lithium target has been proposed and developed at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics in Novosibirsk, Russia. We describe VITA which provides a dc proton/deuteron beam with an energy within a range of 0.6–2.3 MeV with a current from 1 nA to 10 mA. VITA is also capable of producing α-particles through the 7Li(p,α)α and 11B(p,α)αα reactions, 478 keV photons through the 7Li(p,p′γ)7Li reaction and positrons through the 19F(p,e+e−)16O reaction. We present several applications of this source: boron neutron capture therapy, nuclear cross sections determination, lithium target study, radiation blistering of metals during proton implantation and the radiation testing of promising materials.

Keywords: Neutron source, vacuum-insulated tandem accelerator, lithium target

DOI: 10.3233/JNR-220020

Journal: Journal of Neutron Research, vol. 24, no. 3-4, pp. 273-279, 2022