Design of compact accelerator system for high flux accelerator based neutron source

Area of Science:

• Nuclear physics and accelerator technology.
• Applications in materials science and Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT).

Background:

• Accelerator Based Neutron Sources (ABNS) are crucial for materials research and BNCT.
• Development of compact and cost-effective accelerator systems is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the design and performance of two Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) accelerators for proton and deuteron beams.
• To evaluate the neutron production efficiency of each system.

Main Methods:

• Design and simulation of two RFQ accelerator systems: one for protons and one for deuterons.
• Both systems utilize an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source, low-energy beam transport, RFQ, medium-energy beam transport, Beryllium (Be) target, and moderator.
• Specific design parameters including operating frequency, acceleration energy, beam intensity, and operation mode (continuous-wave) were determined.

Main Results:

• Proton RFQ: 352 MHz, 4 MeV, 10 mA, CW operation, yielding 0.84 × 10^9 n/(s/cm^2) neutron production.
• Deuteron RFQ: 200 MHz, 2.5 MeV, 15 mA, CW operation, yielding 1.02 × 10^9 n/(s/cm^2) neutron production.
• The deuteron-based system demonstrates higher neutron production efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Deuteron RFQ accelerators offer a more efficient neutron source compared to proton RFQ accelerators for similar applications.
• The deuteron-based neutron source presents significant advantages for materials research and BNCT.
• Common components like the ECR ion source and Be target are integral to both systems.