Studies of slow-positron production using low-energy primary electron beams

Slow-positron beams produced from negative-work-function solid-state moderators have found numerous applications in condensed matter physics. There are potential advantages in using low-energy primary electron beams for positron production, including reduced radiation damage to single-crystal moderators and reduced activation of nearby components. We present numerical calculations of positron yields and other beam parameters for various target-moderator configurations using the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) [1] and Advanced Photon Source (APS) [2] electron linacs [3] as examples of sources for the primary electron beams. The status of experiments at these facilities is reviewed