Present Status of Monoenergetic Neutron Production Technology and Reference Radiation Fields

LI Fan; ZHANG Hui; WANG Pingquan; ZHANG Yanan

doi:10.12338/j.issn.2096-9015.2024.0059

Volume 68 Issue 9

Aug. 2024

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LI Fan, ZHANG Hui, WANG Pingquan, ZHANG Yanan. Present Status of Monoenergetic Neutron Production Technology and Reference Radiation Fields[J]. Metrology Science and Technology, 2024, 68(9): 20-31. doi: 10.12338/j.issn.2096-9015.2024.0059

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LI Fan, ZHANG Hui, WANG Pingquan, ZHANG Yanan. Present Status of Monoenergetic Neutron Production Technology and Reference Radiation Fields[J]. Metrology Science and Technology, 2024, 68(9): 20-31. doi: 10.12338/j.issn.2096-9015.2024.0059

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Present Status of Monoenergetic Neutron Production Technology and Reference Radiation Fields

doi: 10.12338/j.issn.2096-9015.2024.0059

National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100029, China

Received Date: 2024-02-29
Accepted Date: 2024-03-27
Rev Recd Date: 2024-03-29

Available Online: 2024-07-09

Publish Date: 2024-09-18

Abstract

Abstract

Neutrons are essential tools for studying nuclear structure, nuclear reaction laws, particle physics, astrophysics, and material structure. They are widely applied in fields such as energy, materials, life sciences, medical health, radiation protection, and semiconductors. Monoenergetic neutrons, in particular, play an increasingly crucial role in ionizing radiation metrology and nuclear energy applications. Consequently, national metrology institutes and nuclear research facilities worldwide have established monoenergetic neutron reference radiation fields. The National Institute of Metrology, China (NIM) plans to construct such a facility within the next 3 to 5 years to enhance China's neutron metrology system, conduct fundamental neutron physics research, and meet the diverse needs for monoenergetic neutrons across various sectors. Based on the latest ISO 8529-1:2021 standard and in response to NIM's requirements for building a monoenergetic neutron reference radiation field, this paper reviews and calculates parameters for the five most common nuclear reactions used in monoenergetic neutron production. These parameters include neutron energy, neutron yield, neutron angular distribution, and accompanying γ-ray background. The paper also summarizes the current status and characteristics of existing monoenergetic neutron reference radiation fields, introduces the primary equipment commonly used in these fields, and provides important parameters for the proposed monoenergetic neutron reference radiation field at NIM.
- metrology,
- monoenergetic neutron,
- reference radiation field,
- accelerator neutron source,
- neutron metrology,
- neutron energy,
- neutron yield

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References(60)

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