Short-Pulse Photoneutron Production on Beryllium Using the Mercury Pulsed Power X-Ray Source

摘要

A successful series of measurements were made al NRL's Mercury machine, which was configured to produce an x-ray photon spectrum that was suitable to induce photoneutron production on beryllium. The spectrum was carefully measured to confirm it was operating with the expected energy endpoint. Many diagnostics clearly detected photoneutrons: and preliminary yield estimates indicate about (3±1 )×10~9 neutrons were produced. The time-resolved measurements indicate the produced neutron spectrum is consistent with our initial simulation results. The pulse width is on the order of 30 ns. We continue to refine our simulations and reduce the uncertainties in our measurements. The success achieved so far demonstrates the feasibility of configuring pulsed power sources to become an intense, short-pulse neutron source.