Characterization of a 6 MeV Accelerator Driven Mixed Neutron/Photon Source

Abstract

There are many applications which require high yield radiation sources with mixed fluxes of photons and neutrons. In particular, such sources are necessary to test radiation detectors and materials. This study was concerned with the determination of photon and neutron fluxes generated by the interaction of a 6 MeV linear electron accelerator driven photon beam with a beryllium photoneutron converter. The double step procedure of an (e,γ) reaction followed by an (γ,n) emission results in a mixed radiation environment. The optimal converter geometry was determined by comparison of the computed neutron fluxes for each converter position. Computational results have shown that photon fluxes up to 1011 photons/cm2/s and neutron fluxes up to 107 neutrons/cm2/s are achievable with the optimal setup. This paper is focused on the results of the MCNPX modeling and experiments and discussion of the converter orientation which leads to the largest radiation fluxes.