Abstract
We describe the Compact Accelerator-based Neutron Source SONATE which we are aiming for to replace the closed Orphée reactor at Saclay, France. The SONATE source would serve an instrumental suite of about 10 instruments. The instruments would be split into low resolution instruments and higher resolution instruments. Our reference design is based on a proton accelerator operating at an energy in the range 20-30 MeV. The accelerator would serve 2 target stations. The first one operating at 20Hz with 2ms long pulses serving low resolution instruments (SANS, reflectivity, imaging, spin-echo) and the second one operating at 100Hz, 200μs long pulses serving higher resolution instruments (powder diffraction, Direct Time-of-flight spectroscopy, Indirect geometry spectroscopy). The 2 operation modes would be interlaced. The peak current on the target is aimed at 100 mA with an average power on the target on the order of 50-80 kW. Numerical Monte-Carlo simulations show that we may expect instrument performances equivalent to the current instruments around Orphée or ISIS.
Highlights
The reactor Orphée at the CEA Saclay has been serving the French neutron scattering community for 38 years
We are considering replacing the reactor neutron source with a compact accelerator-based source which would serve an instrumental suite of about 10 instruments
In the following we describe the design parameters of a Compact Accelerator-based Neutron Source which would be suitable to replace the reactor Orphée for neutron scattering purposes
Summary
The reactor Orphée at the CEA Saclay has been serving the French neutron scattering community for 38 years. In the following we describe the design parameters of a Compact Accelerator-based Neutron Source which would be suitable to replace the reactor Orphée for neutron scattering purposes. This design is referred to as “SONATE”. We will consider the different degrees of freedom in the design of a Compact Accelerator-based Neutron Source and derive machine parameters we think are suitable for a CANS dedicated to neutron scattering which would provide sufficient performances to be operated as a user facility. Most spallation sources are nowadays operating in pulsed mode which allows making use of most of the produced neutrons In such pulsed machines, the key figure of merit is the peak flux which is given by the proton peak current.
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