The Frankfurt neutron source FRANZ

Abstract

A 2MeV proton beam will produce a quasi-Maxwellian neutron spectrum of around 30 keV by the 7Li(p, n)7Be reaction. The experiments are mainly focused on the measurement of differential neutron capture cross sections relevant for the astrophysical s-process in nuclear synthesis. Moreover, proton capture cross sections for the astrophysical p-process can be measured directly with the proton beam. For an efficient time of flight measurement of the neutron energies along the 0.7 m long drift from the Li-target to the sample, 1ns short, intense proton pulses are needed at the target. Additionally, to reach $ 10^{7}$ n/cm2/s at the sample, a pulse repetition rate of 250 kHz is intended. After completion and successful running in, FRANZ will become a user facility with internal and external users. The 120 kV injector terminal and the 200mA proton source as well as the low-energy beam transport section and the FRANZ cave have been realized successfully. The 1.9 MV RF accelerator consists of a combined 4-Rod-RFQ/IH-DTL-resonator and is in the RF tuning and power testing phase. The 2 MeV transport and rebuncher section is ready for installation. In a first step FRANZ will offer experimental areas for neutron activation experiments and for proton beam experiments, as mentioned above. From the accelerator physics point of view, FRANZ will be an excellent facility for high current beam investigations and for beam wall interaction studies.