Assessing the potential of upcoming laser-driven neutron sources and their practical applications for industry and society

Abstract Laser-driven neutron sources (LDNS) are an emerging technology with significant potential. The most promising types of LDNS are based on laser wakefield acceleration or target normal sheath acceleration, driven in a “pitcher-catcher” configuration. In this publication, we estimate the performance of LDNS once they have been optimized for industrial-scale usage and identify for which applications they can be used. For this purpose, we evaluate the current laser developments and identify the three most promising laser systems that can be used to cover the most relevant applications. A scaling system is then derived to predict the neutron production rate for each of the three systems. The first system is expected to produce $$8 \times 10^{8}\,\hbox {n}\,\hbox {s}^{-1}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>8</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mn>8</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace/> <mml:mtext>n</mml:mtext> <mml:mspace/> <mml:msup> <mml:mtext>s</mml:mtext> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> to $$8 \times 10^{9}\,\hbox {n}\,\hbox {s}^{-1}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>8</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mn>9</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace/> <mml:mtext>n</mml:mtext> <mml:mspace/> <mml:msup> <mml:mtext>s</mml:mtext> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> for thermalized neutrons. The second one $${1 \times 10^{11}}\,\hbox {n}\,\hbox {s}^{-1}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mn>11</mml:mn> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace/> <mml:mtext>n</mml:mtext> <mml:mspace/> <mml:msup> <mml:mtext>s</mml:mtext> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> for fast neutrons and the third one $$1 \times 10^{14}\,\hbox {n}\,\hbox {s}^{-1}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mn>14</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace/> <mml:mtext>n</mml:mtext> <mml:mspace/> <mml:msup> <mml:mtext>s</mml:mtext> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> to $$1 \times 10^{15}\,\hbox {n}\,\hbox {s}^{-1}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mn>15</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace/> <mml:mtext>n</mml:mtext> <mml:mspace/> <mml:msup> <mml:mtext>s</mml:mtext> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> fast neutrons. This is followed by an evaluation of possible applications that can be driven with each of the different LDNS system. We conclude with a comparison of the scaling law and the neutron production rate to existing experimental data and scaling laws from other groups to evaluate the accuracy of the model and the estimates for the different applications.