Vacuum-Insulated Tandem Accelerator as a Powerful Fast Neutron Generator

High flux neutron sources are required for many scientific research and technological applications. The accelerator based neutron source VITA operated by the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics is used both to generate epithermal neutron fluxes for the development of boron-neutron capture therapy and to generate fast neutron fluxes for radiation testing of advanced materials. For example, some materials developed for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, and other research institutions were irradiated with a fast neutron flux up to a fluence of 3 × 1014 cm–2, and a new knowledge was obtained. The accelerator based neutron source VITA as a powerful fast neutron generator is described and the results of a long experimental run on fast neutron generation are presented. The features and limitations of using the accelerator based neutron source VITA to generate a powerful fast neutron flux are noted and suggestions for increasing the neutron flux for its further use for both radiation testing of materials and equipment are discussed.