Performance of the solid deuterium ultra-cold neutron source at the pulsed reactor TRIGA Mainz

The performance of the solid deuterium ultra-cold neutron (UCN) source at the pulsed reactor TRIGA Mainz with a maximum peak energy of 10MJ is described. The solid deuterium converter with a volume of V=160 cm3 (8mol), which is exposed to a thermal neutron fluence of 4.5 x 1013 n/cm2, delivers up to 240000 UCN (v ≤ 6 m/s) per pulse outside the biological shield at the experimental area. UCN densities of ∼ 10 cm3 are obtained in stainless-steel bottles of V ∼ 10 L. The measured UCN yields compare well with the predictions from a Monte Carlo simulation developed to model the source and to optimize its performance for the upcoming upgrade of the TRIGA Mainz into a user facility for UCN physics. (orig.)