Design of back-streaming white neutron beam line at CSNS

Abstract

A white neutron beam line using back-streaming neutrons from the spallation target is under construction at China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS). Different spectrometers, to be installed in the so-called Back-n beam line for nuclear data measurements, are also being developed in phases. The physical design of the beam line is carried out with the help of a complicated collimation system and a sophisticated neutron dump, taking the overview of the neutron beam characteristics into account. This includes energy spectrum, flux and time structure, the optimizations of neutron beam spots and in-hall background. The wide neutron energy range of 1eV–100MeV is excellent for supporting different applications, especially nuclear data measurements. At Endstation#2, which is about 80m away from the target, the main properties of the beam line include neutron flux of 106n/cm2/s, time resolution of a few per mille over nearly the entire energy range, and in-hall background of about 0.01/cm2/s for both neutron and gamma. With its first commission in late 2017, Back-n will not only be the first high-performance white neutron source in China, but also one of the best white neutron sources in the world.