G. Feinberg

High-power liquid-lithium target prototype for accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy

A prototype of a compact Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT), which will possibly constitute an accelerator-based intense neutron source for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) in hospitals, was built. The LiLiT setup is presently being commissioned at Soreq Nuclear Research Center (SNRC). The liquid-lithium target will produce neutrons through the (7)Li(p,n)(7)Be reaction and it will overcome the major problem of removing the thermal power generated using a high-intensity proton beam (>10 kW), necessary for sufficient neutron flux. In off-line circulation tests, the liquid-lithium loop generated a stable lithium jet at high velocity, on a concave supporting wall; the concept will first be tested using a high-power electron beam impinging on the lithium jet. High intensity proton beam irradiation (1.91-2.5 MeV, 2-4 mA) will take place at Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF) superconducting linear accelerator currently in construction at SNRC. Radiological risks due to the (7)Be produced in the reaction were studied and will be handled through a proper design, including a cold trap and appropriate shielding. A moderator/reflector assembly is planned according to a Monte Carlo simulation, to create a neutron spectrum and intensity maximally effective to the treatment and to reduce prompt gamma radiation dose risks.

Demonstration of a high-intensity neutron source based on a liquid-lithium target for Accelerator based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy.

A free surface liquid-lithium jet target is operating routinely at Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), bombarded with a ~1.91 MeV, ~1.2 mA continuous-wave narrow proton beam. The experiments demonstrate the liquid lithium target (LiLiT) capability to constitute an intense source of epithermal neutrons, for Accelerator based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). The target dissipates extremely high ion beam power densities (>3 kW/cm(2), >0.5 MW/cm(3)) for long periods of time, while maintaining stable conditions and localized residual activity. LiLiT generates ~3×10(10) n/s, which is more than one order of magnitude larger than conventional (7)Li(p,n)-based near threshold neutron sources. A shield and moderator assembly for BNCT, with LiLiT irradiated with protons at 1.91 MeV, was designed based on Monte Carlo (MCNP) simulations of BNCT-doses produced in a phantom. According to these simulations it was found that a ~15 mA near threshold proton current will apply the therapeutic doses in ~1h treatment duration. According to our present results, such high current beams can be dissipated in a liquid-lithium target, hence the target design is readily applicable for accelerator-based BNCT.

A liquid-lithium target project for production of high-intensity quasi-stellar neutrons

A windowless Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) is under construction and development at Soreq NRC (Israel). The target is designed to be bombarded by a 2-4 mA proton beam (Ep= 1.8-2.5 MeV) from the high-intensity Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), a superconducting linear accelerator for light ions. The liquid-lithium forced flow at a velocity of ~20 m/s and a thickness of ~1.8 mm serves both as a power dump (10 kW) for the proton beam and as a neutron-producing target via the 7 Li(p,n) 7 Be reaction. As known from the work of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe group, the energy distribution of neutrons emitted for a proton energy Ep= 1.912 MeV, ~30 keV above the reaction threshold, and a thick Li target is very similar to that of a Maxwell-Boltzmann flux at a thermal energy of ~25 keV, well suited for activation measurements relevant to s-process nucleosynthesis. The neutron intensity expected under these conditions from the combination of the SARAF proton beam and the LiLiT thermal properties is of ~2×10 10 s -1 mA -1 , and is larger by more than one order of magnitude than currently available. The LiLiT setup is built as a loop circulating liquid lithium at a temperature of ~200 o C and producing a jet (acting as the target) onto a thin concave supporting wall, driven by a rotating magnet inductive electromagnetic pump. The liquid lithium is collected in a reservoir housing a heat exchanger with a mineral-oil closed loop. Circulation and thermal tests of the loop are presently in progress in an offline dedicated electron-gun laboratory and online installation at the SARAF accelerator is planned for end 2010. Characterization of the SARAF proton beam (beam energy, energy width and transverse profile) and of the neutron spectrum obtained under these conditions are studied in parallel using a solid-lithium (lithium fluoride) target at low beam intensities. The SARAF-LiLiT system will be used to measure stellar neutron capture cross sections for stable or radioactive targets demanding high neutron fluxes. Present status and plans are discussed.

FIRST NUCLEAR-ASTROPHYSICS EXPERIMENTS WITH HIGH-INTENSITY NEUTRONS FROM THE LIQUID-LITHIUM TARGET LiLiT

A high-intensity neutron source based on a Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) and the Li(p,n) reaction was developed at SARAF (Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility, Israel). The setup is used for nuclear-astrophysics experiments owing to the quasi-Maxwellian shape of the neutron energy distribution at stellar thermal energies (kT ~ 30 keV). The LiLiT device consists of a forced-flown (> 2 m/s) film of liquid lithium (~200 C) whose free surface is bombarded by a proton beam. The lithium film acts both as the neutron-producing target and as a power beam dump. The setup was commissioned with a 1.2 mA proton beam at 1.91 MeV, producing a neutron yield (peaked at ~28 keV) of ~ 3 ×10 n/s, more than one order of magnitude larger than conventional Li(p,n)-based neutron sources. The target dissipates a peak power areal density of 2.5 kW/cm and a peak power volume density of 500 kW/cm with no significant temperature or vacuum pressure elevation in the target chamber. We present preliminary results of first activation measurements on Zr and Ce stable isotopes performed with the SARAF-LiLiT setup, using Au as neutron monitor and of the determination of their Maxwellian-averaged neutron capture cross section.

Energy-broadened proton beam for production of quasi-stellar neutrons from the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction

Production of quasi-stellar neutrons by the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction has been used for measuring s-process cross sections and efforts to upgrade the proton beam intensity with RF linear accelerators are presently ongoing. We investigated the effect of an energy-broadened proton beam, as is expected for a RF linear accelerator, on the produced 25-keV quasi-Maxwellian neutron spectrum and compared it to that of a Van de Graaff accelerator with well-defined proton energy. Neutron spectrum measurements from 0° to 80° were carried out with a pulsed proton beam at the IRMM Van de Graaff accelerator using time-of-flight techniques, both with a narrow energy spread (σ≈1.5 keV) proton beam and with an energy-broadened beam (σ≈20 keV) obtained by straggling through a Au-foil degrader. In the latter case, the neutron spectrum is closer to the Maxwellian flux distribution in the high neutron energy region.