Accelerator for the production of very high neutron yields of 14 MeV

This paper describes an electrostatic, low-energy, high current accelerator for the production of intense neutron flux (14 MeV). The accelerating voltage lies between 160 and 200 kV and the total current is 200 mA. The DT reaction gives yields of 5 . 1011 n . s-1/cm-2 for a neutron emission of 6 . 1012 n . s-1 in the 4π. In order to obtain the dissipation of the power carried by the deuteron beam, with a density which may exceed 10 kW /cm-2, a 500 cm2 tritiated titanium ring is deposited on the rotating target holder so that the diameter of the neutron source is smaller than 50 mm. In addition to giving the possibility of reducing to 1 mm the distance between the sample and the active surface, it thus makes it possible to obtain very intense yields. The device has been designed for an intensive operation, a special attention being given to the problem of breakdowns. Moreover, the rail-guided carriage mechanism allows for the automatic changing of target holders