Neutron spectrum determination of accelerator-driven d(10)+Be neutron source using the multi-foil activation technique

New neutron field of the compact accelerator-driven fast neutron source based on the cyclotron and beryllium target station was studied and developed at the NPI CAS. Neutrons were generated using the deuteron bombardment on 8 mm thick beryllium layer by the 10.3 MeV deuteron beam. Broad neutron energy spectra of the d(10)+Be source reaction at two source-to-sample distances (14 mm and 154 mm) were determined for the first time at the NPI. Sets of eight activation materials comprising Au, Co, Ti, In, Al, Fe, Ni, and Nb were irradiated in the d(10)+Be neutron field, and activated dosimetry foils were analysed using the nuclear gamma-spectroscopy technique (HPGe detector) and reaction rates were measured. Neutron energy spectra of the d + Be source reaction for 10.3 MeV deuterons were reconstructed employing the modified version of the SAND-II unfolding code. For 9.7 μA deuteron beam, the fast neutron flux of developed d(10)+Be neutron field reached the value of 1.4 × 1010 cm−2s−1 at a distance of 14 mm from the source target and 4.1 × 108 cm−2s−1 at a distance of 154 mm. The novel d(10)+Be neutron field with energy range up to 15 MeV is convenient for neutron cross-section data validation, experimental simulation of the fast neutron spectrum of experimental nuclear reactors, applications of neutron activation analysis, and radiation hardness tests of materials important for nuclear energetics.