Speaker
Description
The combination of continuous wave 5 mA proton or deuteron 40 MeV beams on a unique thick GaIn liquid jet target [1] will generate a high-energy neutron rate of more than $10^{15}$ neutrons per second at the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), currently under construction in Yavne, Israel [2].
We are currently designing SARONA – SARaf exotic Nuclide fAcility, where the high-energy neutrons, up to ~45 MeV, will impinge on thin natural actinide targets located inside a gas-filled cryogenic stopping cell (CSC) to produce more than $10^9$ neutron-rich isotopes per second via neutron-induced fission.
The fission products will be thermalized the CSC, separated and transferred via an ion beam line to a multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS). SARONA is based conceptually on the FRS Ion Catcher at GSI [3], with a CSC whose architecture is similar to that planned for FAIR [4]. The rate of mass-separated neutron-rich fission products at SARONA is expected to be at a similar level to that of FRIB [5].
In this contribution we will present the simulations and design of the SARONA CSC and its first engineering tests, and the layout of SARONA at the vicinity of the high-rate GaIn neutron source. A preliminary analysis of space charge in the CSC and its effect on maximal extraction rates as a function of push voltage and buffer gas pressure will be shown. We will describe our efforts to maximize the neutron rate at the thin actinide target, while minimizing their rate at the MR-TOF-MS detector and the radiation dose at sensitive electronic equipment. We will discuss the challenges and solutions for installing and operating SARONA in the radiation environment of the high-energy neutron source, considering the effects of direct neutron bombardment and induced residual activation.
[1] I. Eliyahu et al., Nucl. Instr. Meth A 1053, 168320 (2023)
[2] I. Mardor et al., Front. Phys. 11:1248191 (2023)
[3] W. R. Plass et al., Nucl. Instr. Meth B 317, 457 (2013)
[4] T. Dickel et al., Nucl. Instr. Meth B 376 216 (2016)
[5] I. Mardor et al., Eur. Phys. Jour. 54:91 (2018)
| Email address | mardor@tauex.tau.ac.il |
|---|---|
| Classification | Ion guide, gas catcher, and beam manipulation techniques |
