Abstract
Neutron production with laser-driven neutron sources was demonstrated. We outline the basics of laser-driven neutron sources, highlight some fundamental advantages, and quantitatively compare the neutron production at the TRIDENT laser sources with the well-established LANSCE pulsed neutron spallation source. Ongoing efforts by our team to continue development of these sources, in particular the LANSCE-ina-box instrument, are described. The promise of ultra-intense lasers as drivers for brilliant, compact, and highly efficient particle accelerators portends driving next-generation neutron sources, potentially replacing in some cases much larger conventional accelerators.
Highlights
Neutrons play an important role in material characterization
Accelerator-driven sources on the other hand can surpass the intrinsic source brightness limitations of reactors and avoid the proliferation concerns and nuclear waste concerns arising from the use of highly enriched uranium, which often provides the fuel for these reactor sources
Spallation neutron sources are driven by high-intensity proton beams and can achieve a source brightness that exceeds the performance of reactors
Summary
Neutrons play an important role in material characterization. Neutron based characterization techniques include neutron radiography, covering cold, thermal, epithermal, and fast neutron radiography, neutron diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering, neutron reflectometry, small angle neutron scattering, and neutron cross-section measurements covering all neutron energies For about half a century, research reactors enabled these applications. Accelerator-driven sources on the other hand can surpass the intrinsic source brightness limitations of reactors and avoid the proliferation concerns and nuclear waste concerns arising from the use of highly enriched uranium, which often provides the fuel for these reactor sources. Spallation neutron sources are driven by high-intensity proton beams and can achieve a source brightness that exceeds the performance of reactors. The promise of ultra-intense lasers as drivers for brilliant, compact, and highly efficient particle accelerators for electrons and ions (potentially replacing in some cases much larger conventional accelerators) portends driving next-generation neutron sources. Laser-driven sources, at present, cannot compete with acceleratordriven sources or high flux reactors in terms of average neutron flux (where average flux is the number of particles per second regardless of temporal substructure). For medium size neutron sources as well as for high peak flux neutron sources, the performance of laser sources is evolving to where they are competitive
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