The Japanese-Canadian TUCAN (TRIUMF UltraCold Advanced Neutron) collaboration is currently building a next generation ultracold neutron source at TRIUMF, Vancouver, Canada. This superthermal source is based on conversion of fast neutrons from a spallation target to the ultracold regime in liquid, superfluid helium. We expect to deliver around $10^7$ UCN per second at the exit of the source....
Ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) are the slowest class of neutrons with typical energies in the neV range. They show the unique property that they are reflected at any angle from materials with sufficiently high optical potential, so that it becomes possible to confine and store them in material traps. The storage time can reach several hundred seconds and is theoretically limited by the free...
Very Cold Neutrons represent a natural next step beyond the widely deployed cold neutron sources. As yet, there has been no practical VCN sources demonstrated to make a brighter VCN beam than simply using the low energy tail of a conventional cold moderator. In this talk I will summarize the development efforts and needs leading to practical VCN sources and the unique opportunity for Compact...
The Spallation Physics Group at the European Spallation Source (ESS) conducts radiation transport simulations to support the facility's design and licensing processes. These simulations integrate geometric system representations with nuclear data to analyze radiation interactions and produce observables such as dose maps and detector responses. Our work has led to the development of advanced...
F. J. Villacorta,1,* I. Bustinduy,1 F. Sordo,1 M. Pérez,1 J. M. Porro,2,3 V. Petrenko,2,3 S. Lanceros-Méndez,2,3 M. Cárdenas,3,4 F. Fernandez-Alonso,3,5 A. Maestro,3,5 A. Arbe5 and J. Colmenero5
1 ESS-Bilbao, Bizkaia Technology Park, Laida Bidea, Building 207 B, Ground Floor, 48160 Derio, Spain
2 BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park,...
Neutron scattering has proven to be one of the most powerful methods for the investigation of structure and dynamics of condensed matter on atomic length and time scales. Neutron techniques have a broad range of applications in physics, chemistry, magnetism and superconductivity, material sciences, cultural heritage, biology, soft matter, health, and environmental and climate science. A...
F. Mezei1, G. Anda2, M. Csíkos1, Á. Horváth2, A. Kocsonya1,2, P. Konik1,2, R. Mezei1, L. Rosta1,2, H. Shuai1, P. Sipos1, S. Zoletnik2 and G. Zsuga1
1Mirrotron Ltd., 2462 Martonvásár, 1517/1 hrsz. Hungary
2 HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, 1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege u. 29-33, Hungary
The compact neutron source project LvB is being completed by a consortium of Mirrotron Ltd and HUN-REN...
Birmingham’s high flux neutron facility utilises a high power electrostatic accelerator to provide currents of over 30 mA, at 2.6 MeV, onto a rotating lithium target. This gives neutron yields of >3x1013 neutrons/sec via the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction. This intense and versatile source enables a wide range of research activities including materials damage, medical physics and...
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has a long history of neutron-related research, including early experiments using reactor-based neutron sources for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) dating back to the 1950s. Beginning in the 1990s, various Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Source (CANS) concepts were explored. However, these activities ceased entirely around the turn of the millennium...
We present the status of the Moderator Test Station (MTS), under construction at the Spallation Neutron Source. The MTS will provide the ability to test a wide variety of moderators in a prototypic configuration, simultaneously measuring the neutronic performance of the moderator concepts central to the gains described for upcoming neutron source facilities. The presentation will describe the...
Accelerator-driven neutron sources provide a cost-efficient and attractive alternative to present neutron sources like fission reactors and spallation sources. With the advent of high-current proton accelerator systems, a novel class of such neutron facilities emerged termed High-Current Accelerator-driven Neutron Sources (HiCANS) with unique properties and possibilities.>
The High...
Neutron imaging (NI) is a nondestructive and noninvasive inspection technique with a wide range of potential applications. The fundamentals of this technique need to be improved, particularly in achieving micrometer-scale or finer resolution, which remains a challenging task. Recently, we developed a high-resolution NI device utilizing fine-grained nuclear emulsions (FGNE). The NI of...
One of the key roles that CANS facilities play in the international neutron ecosystem is providing the abundant beam time necessary for developing novel ideas in neutron instrumentation. Over the last two decades, LENS has devoted considerable effort to the development of spin manipulation devices, in particular the Magnetic Wollaston Prisms that have been used for various spin-echo techniques...
We have been developing the RIKEN Accelerator-driven compact Neutron Systems (RANS) since 2011. Two accelerator-based neutron systems and an RI-based neutron salt meter are already being used for daily neutron scattering measurement experiments. RANS-I consists of 7 MeV proton LINAC (425MHz RFQ+DTL coupled) and a beryllium target with a room temperature polyethylene moderator and a...
SANS is a commonly used technique for structural study of materials. However, its effectiveness is often perceived to depend on the availability of high incident neutron flux. In this work, we introduce a data analysis method grounded in the properties of multivariate Gaussian distributions, which accounts for the proximity relationships among detector pixels. This approach enhances the...
Neutron scattering remains an indispensable tool for probing the structure and dynamics of matter. To meet the growing demand for advanced neutron capabilities, the French ICONE project is developing a next-generation neutron source based on a high-current compact accelerator (HiCANS). Now in the Technical Design Report (TDR) phase, ICONE's innovative dual-target station design, with tailored...
With a globally shrinking supply of neutron and the NIMBY perception that research reactors face, compact accelerator-driven neutron sources (CANS) are on the rise. CANS have potential to produce an intense source of pulsed neutrons, with a capital cost significantly lower than spallation sources and reactor sources along with much less public stigma. A prototype Canadian CANS (PC-CANS) is...
For accelerator-driven neutron sources applied in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), the directionality of the neutron beam is a critical characteristic, as it directly influences both the penetration depth of the therapeutic beam within tissues and the magnitude of undesired radiation.
We propose a method that combines the gold foil activation technique and the neural network to measure...
Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Sources (CANS) demonstrate significant potential for applications in both scientific and industrial fields. A critical challenge for further expanding CANS’s applications is to improve the neutron yield, which requires a highly-efficient thermal dissipation ability for neutron target to bear the high power of incident beam. By employing the rotating target,...
Topological defects or solitons are irregularities which occur within continuous fields or ordered states of matter. These defects (points, lines, or surfaces) are characterised by their stability and the fact that they cannot be 'smoothed out' or removed through continuous transformations. In particle physics, the Skyrmion is a topologically stable field configuration originally proposed to...
This study developed a compact accelerator-based neutron source integrating double Einzel-lens focusing and RFQ acceleration. In the LEBT section, dual electrostatic lenses were employed to focus the beam, achieving a 30 keV, 15 mA pulsed beam output within a length of 0.22 meters, meeting the input requirements of the accelerator. A four-vane RFQ operating at 325 MHz was utilized to...
Accelerator-based neutron sources are critical infrastructures in today's scientific research and industrial fields, with the neutron source target being the key component determining the performance of the neutron source. Traditional accelerator neutron source targets typically use homogeneous elemental materials with high neutron yield as the target material. These materials face challenges...
In recent years, the increase in the soft error rate (SER) caused by cosmic ray-neutrons on the ground has become a serious problem due to the miniaturization, high integration, and low power consumption of semiconductor devices. Therefore, it is important to design semiconductor devices considering SER. Estimation of SER for various environments requires the information of the neutron...
Particle accelerator systems are becoming more complex with each new installation, yet reliability remains a fundamental requirement for both industrial and research installations. Ensuring that beams are delivered on time and within specified parameters is essential. While the combination of complexity and high reliability may seem challenging, this can be addressed effectively through...
A neutron generator producing 2.45 MeV neutrons with d-d reaction is fabricated for industrial material identification with neutron activation analysis (NAA). The neutron generator consists of a deuteron plasma source and a Ti-coated Cu target and is expected to produce 108 n/s at maximum operation. The target is supplied with 100 kV bias voltage with 1 mA deuteron at maximum operation. With...
A prototype Canadian compact accelerator-driven neutron source (PC-CANS) is proposed for installation at the University of Windsor. The source is based on a high-intensity compact proton RF accelerator that delivers an average current of 10 mA of protons at 10 MeV to the target. This study can serve as a basis for the design of an initial stage of a new high-intensity compact...
We have been conducting research on non-destructive inspection techniques using neutron measurement for the proactive maintenance of the social infrastructure. RANS-III (transportable RIKEN Accelerator-driven compact Neutron Systems) is under development and responded to on-site needs to the recent global increase of cable-stayed bridge falls and other accidents that have occurred due to water...
The use of neutrons is established since decades and essential for industry, medicine, life sciences and research. Classical neutron sources are mainly neutron generators, with low neutron flux, or research reactors and spallation sources, which are large and cost intensive installations. A cost efficient, effective and compact neutron source could bridge the gap existing and offer potential...
The tantalum cladded solid tungsten is applied as the CSNS spallation targets. A large amount of high-energy gamma rays will be generated by the interaction between incident protons, secondary neutrons and the target materials. Furthermore, the radioactive spallation reaction fragments will also release decay gamma rays. These gamma rays could further produce neutrons through (γ, n) reactions...
With the ongoing miniaturization, high integration, and low power consumption of semiconductor devices, soft errors caused by cosmic-ray neutrons in terrestrial environments have become a concern. The soft error rate in the terrestrial environment can be quantitatively estimated from the soft error rate measured with an accelerator-driven neutron source and the acceleration factor that is...
Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) spectrometer based on compact accelerator-driven neutron sources (CANSs) faces several challenges: the neutron current is 2~3 orders lower than that of large sources, and the compact size results in stricter constraints between neutron flux and $Q_{\mathrm{min}}$. The grazing-incidence focusing SANS (gif-SANS) at Compact Pulsed Hadron Source (CPHS) of...
At RIKEN we have developed compact neutron source systems for on-site quantitative evaluation for practical use. There are two major goals of our RANS Project’s research and development. One is to establish and realize CANS (Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Source) models that can be easily operated, non-destructively measured, and quantitatively evaluated, as a floor-standing type for...
Neutron sources play a pivotal role for society providing neutrons as a powerful tool for research and broad range of applications. In recent years, new generation of low energy driven neutron sources collectively known as Compact Accelerator-Based Neutron Sources (CANS) emerged, based on the significant progress in lower-energy accelerators as well as neutron production target technologies....
Neutron sources produce immense socioeconomic value, and this value must be objectively measured and clearly communicated to the governments that fund them. Yet measuring the impacts of the knowledge that is produced from research is challenging. In addition, they produce other benefits from training highly qualified people for a science and technology workforce or from other missions that are...
In an effort to close the neutron gap in Canada a prototype, compact accelerator-based neutron source for Canada (PC-CANS) is proposed for installation at the University of Windsor. The PC CANS is envisaged to serve two neutron science instruments, a boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) station and a beamline for fluorine-18 radioisotope production for positive emission tomography. To serve...
The accelerator-based D-D/D-T fusion neutron source, with mono-energy and high-intensity, is the key equipment to carry out the advanced research of neutron physics and neutron application technology, which provide reliable neutron source for basic research of neutron physics, new nuclear energy utilization system research and development, fusion device research and development, nuclear...
With the continuous development of neutron sources in various fields, achieving efficient miniaturization of accelerator-based neutron sources has become a research hotspot. Traditional large-scale neutron sources devices are limited by their large size and high energy consumption, restricting their feasibility in small laboratories and field applications. Therefore, designing a compact and...
Moderators are essential parts of neutron sources for neutron scattering experiments for both accelerator and reactor based sources. In accelerator driven sources particularly spallation sources it is much easier and more cost effective to change performance by changing the moderator than by changing the accelerator. The balance of neutron flux, brightness, resolution, and energy...
Abstract
Neutron sources are important for the R&D of advanced nuclear energy systems and extended nuclear technology applications. FDS Consortium has developed series neutron sources for different applications, including the Mini Neutron Generator MINEG, Compact Neutron Source CONEG, High Intensity Neutron Source HINEG and Volumetric Neutron Source VNEG.
MINEG, with minimal...
There are three grand national neutron sources in operation in China, including, China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR) and China Mianyang Research Reactor (CMRR). Chinese Neutron Scattering Society (CNSS) was formally established as a branch of the Chinese Physical Society (CPS) in 2012, which forms a good situation for developing of neutron science and...
The moderator is a crucial component of neutron sources, slowing neutrons from a target to energies suitable for materials science. At large user facilities like ISIS, once moderators are installed, it becomes very difficult to make changes or track issues, as testing on the full-scale facility is highly limited. Therefore, testing moderators and moderator systems prior to installation at the...
In Korea, neutron sources and related research facilities have been developed and utilized for the industrial and defense application with PGNAA and neutron radiography, and also development of fission and fusion energy. Among them, 30 MeV cyclotron-based neutron source development is completed the neutron generation preliminary evaluation is in progress, in which the existing cyclotron was...
LENS has had a long and distinct history within the UCANS community. One unique feature of its history has been the evolution of the larger facility within which it has been housed (from an international-scale nuclear user facility, to a medical center, to a stand-alone neutron facility). This history has provided challenges for LENS operations, which will be discussed in this presentation....
Very cold neutron (VCN) sources present an exciting opportunity for scientists to access unprecedented length and time scales, and achieve improved resolution in neutron experiments [1]. VCNs are defined over a wide spectral range, from 1 meV (9 Å) down to a few hundred neV (> several 100 Å). Recent advancements in the development of thermal scattering kernels for candidate very cold neutron...
Historically, the cold moderators first operating in neutron sources were liquid hydrogen and solid methane at temperatures near 20 K. Even today a preferred option for accelerator-based cold neutron sources is liquid para-hydrogen, because it is not subject to polymerization due to radiolysis, as in the case of hydrocarbon moderators. An extensive amount of information has been produced for...
The NEPIR (NEutron and Proton Irradiation) facility at the SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) project at LNL-INFN (Italy), is designed to serve as a unique fast neutron irradiation facility in Italy and a reference point for applied and basic science as well as industrial applications. Driven by the SPES cyclotron, which delivers 35-70 MeV protons at maximum currents of 500 μA,...
Within the remit of the IKUR strategy in the Basque Country [1], we have recently embarked on a critical assessment of available technologies for the provision of neutrons across low-flux compact space. One important aspect of these activities relates to the implementation of scientific and technological demonstrators, with an initial focus on construction materials of direct relevance to the...
One of the challenges to overcome for commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIB) is suppression of power-storage degradation due to charge-discharge cycles. Some of the present authors (K. Kino and T. Fujiwara) and their collaborators previously reported nonuniform degradation of LIBs nondestructively and quantitatively by a Bragg-edge imaging experiment conducted at a large neutron facility, the...
Neutron Beam System (NBS) based on electrostatic proton accelerator designed for accelerator-based Boron-Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) has been installed in Xiamen Humanity Hospital, China. The NBS is used for patient treatments since October 2023, after more than a year of preliminary studies. By the end of 2024, more than 50 treatments were served. NBS uptime during 2024 was above 96%....
As it has been reported that bridges collapsed and many serious damages occurred due to chloride attack of concrete structure all over the world, strong demands have been addressed to urgent requirement of a non-destructive on-site measuring techniques which can measure the chloride ion concentration in concrete structures distributed from the surface to steel bar. To meet them, we have...
SHINE Technologies, LLC and its sister company, Phoenix, LLC, have developed and matured through production readiness a suite of high flux, accelerator-based neutron generators to effectively address challenging use cases historically left to nuclear reactors which are less accessible and available. SHINE’s deuterium-tritium (DT) system is the world’s highest yield accelerator-based system...
Despite the commissioning of the ESS only about half of neutron capacity will be available for research in Europe in the next decade due to the outage of aging reactors. There is an urgent need for a new class of efficient neutron facilities to offer competitive capabilities with neutrons for many research areas compact. High Current Accelerator based Neutron Sources (HiCANS) are currently in...
A prototype Canadian compact accelerator-driven neutron source (PC-CANS) is proposed for installation at the University of Windsor. PC-CANS is designed to produce neutrons for science and BNCT and protons for PET isotope production. The source will utilize a high-intensity compact proton RF linear accelerator, delivering a peak current of 20 mA with a 5% duty factor of protons at 10 MeV to the...
Science using neutrons in the nanometer (nm) wavelength region as probes is expanding into a wide range of fields, from basic research in materials and life science to industrial applications. Dramatic increase in the intensity of the beam source is required to drive such research. We have focused on coherent scattering caused by nano-sized particle aggregations to increase the intensity of...
In order to enhance the intensity of neutron beams, attention has been focused on the coherent scattering caused by nano-sized particle aggregations, and the use of nanodiamonds has been actively considered. Graphene, which has a sp2 carbon crystal structure, has a large van der Waals force compared to sp3 carbon crystal structure such as nanodiamond, and the bonding force between carbon atoms...
Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Sources (CANS) and their high current variants (HiCANS) with a notably larger neutron yield, have the potential to become an important part in the currently ongoing transformation of the neutron research landscape. One particular effort is the ICONE project, an initiative to build a French HiCANS to serve the needs of the French neutron scattering community...
In recent years there has been a renewed interest in the development of compact neutron sources, as an alternative to large facilities based on reactor or accelerator installations. In fact, compact accelerator-driven neutron sources (CANS) have been in operation for a long time, but different circumstances have recently prompted the design and development of new high intensity CANS projects...
