A Fast-Neutron Source Based on a Vacuum-Insulated Tandem Accelerator and a Lithium Target
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EAR EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE
A Fast-Neutron Source Based on a Vacuum-Insulated Tandem Accelerator and a Lithium Target D. A. Kasatova,b, A. M. Koshkareva,b, A. N. Makarova,b, G. M. Ostreinova,b, S. Yu. Taskaeva,b,*, and I. M. Shchudloa,b a
Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia b Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia *e-mail: [email protected] Received March 10, 2020; revised March 13, 2020; accepted March 27, 2020
Abstract—The production of a deuteron beam in a vacuum-insulated tandem accelerator and the generation of fast neutrons from a lithium target have been investigated. The possibility of using a source of fast neutrons for radiation testing of materials and for fast-neutron therapy is discussed. DOI: 10.1134/S0020441220050152
An accelerator source of epithermal neutrons is functioning at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP) [1, 2]. This source has been created for the development of a prospective method for treating malignant tumors, i.e., boron neutron capture therapy [3, 4]. The source consists of a vacuum-insulated tandem accelerator, which produces a proton beam, and a lithium target in which neutrons are generated in the 7Li(p, n)7Be threshold reaction. An epithermal-neutron beam suitable for boron neutron capture therapy was obtained and successful biological studies were carried out with the source [5, 6]. The developed neutron source acts as the prototype of the facility, which will soon be put into operation in China for the treatment of patients with boron neutron capture therapy. Using this neutron source, a method for the rapid detection of explosives and narcotic substances was also developed [7], and the concentration of hazardous impurities in boron carbide samples produced for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor was measured [8]. In addition, it is expected that the source will be used for radiation tests of fibers of the laser calorimeter calibration system designed to modernize the CMS electromagnetic detector Phase II to work on the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider at CERN [9]. The aim of this study was to obtain a deuteron beam on a vacuum-insulated tandem accelerator and to generate fast neutrons in a lithium target, which are acceptable for radiation testing of optical fibers, fastneutron therapy, and for other applications.
THE EXPERIMENTAL SETUP The study was conducted on an accelerator-based source of epithermal neutrons at the BINP [2]. The diagram of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. 1. The proton beam with an energy of 2 MeV and a current as high as 9 mA is produced as follows. A beam of negative hydrogen ions with an energy of 20 keV is pulled from the surface-plasma source 1. The beam is bent through an angle of 15° in the magnetic field of the ion source and then is focused by the magnetic lens 2 on the accelerator input 3 and accelerated in it to an energy of 1 MeV. Negative hydrogen ions are converted into protons in a gas stripper inside the hig
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