Compact Accelerator-Based Fast Neutron Source for the Radiation Testing of Promising Materials

The VITA accelerator neutron source based on a vacuum-insulated tandem accelerator operates at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics. At the accelerator source, when transporting a powerful (up to 10 kW/cm(2)) beam of protons or deuterons to the target, neutrons with a wide range of energies-cold, thermal, epithermal, and fast-are generated. The transported beam or neutron flux is used for conducting research in the field of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT); measuring the cross section of nuclear reactions (Li-7(p, p'gamma)Li-7, Li-7(p, alpha)He-4, Li-6(d, alpha)alpha, Li-7(d, alpha)He-5, Li-6(d, p)Li-7, and Li-7(d, alpha)alpha n); conducting materials science research together with INP, CERN, and ITER; and for other applications. The creation of a separate compact installation for the generation of fast neutrons is an urgent task; it will allow the treatment of malignant tumors by fast neutrons and the radiation testing of promising materials. The generation of fast neutrons at the existing accelerator neutron source is complicated, because the source of negative hydrogen ions and the bending magnet were designed and produced for the generation and transportation of a proton beam. The installation being created will be designed to generate and conduct a deuteron beam, while the high-voltage and intermediate electrodes of the accelerator will be connected directly to the corresponding sections of the high-voltage power source located inside the gas part of the feedthrough insulator. This paper presents the concept of a compact accelerator source of fast neutrons under development; the results of numerical calculations, modeling, and preliminary testing of the accelerator power supply in air are presented and summarized and further steps of manufacturing and testing of the proposed power supply are formulated.