REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS VOLUME 70, NUMBER 1 JANUARY 1999

Compact neutron generator for diagnostic applications

Yu. A. Kaschuck, D. V. Portnov, A. V. Krasilnikov, and V. N. Amosov
Troitsk Institute of Innovating and Fusion Research (TRINITI), Troitsk, Moscow reg. 142092, Russia
S. V. Siromukov
All-Russian Institute of Automatics (VNIIA)
~Presented on 11 June 1998!
In this article we present the description of compact neutron generators with gas-filled tubes that can
be used for neutron detector calibration and stability control. The absolute neutron emission was
measured with natural diamond detector and appeared to be in 3% agreement with a standard
metrology monitor. Neutron generators design are discussed in regard to neutron emission
anisotropy and stability improvement. Data illustrating the neutron spatial and energy distributions
are presented. © 1999 American Institute of Physics. @S0034-6748~99!75401-8#

I. INTRODUCTION system tracking pressure of the gas in the accelerating tube

Despite significant experience in neutron measurements
on modern tokamaks, methodological problems of neutron
diagnostics calibration are still important in the interpretation
of measured results. On the one hand, that is due to the huge
variety of sources of neutron radiation used. On the other
hand, it is due to the fact that in different fusion laboratories
various calibration sources and techniques are applied.1 The
neutron generator NGM-17 ~neutron generator with modula-
tion! with a rather high yield and relatively small sizes is a
universal neutron source. NGM-17 can be used for calibra-
tion of precise neutron flux monitors, activation detectors,
and other dosimeter equipment. The International Thermo-
nuclear Experimental Reactor ~ITER! neutron diagnostic is
one of the most important possible applications.
II. NEUTRON GENERATOR DESCRIPTION
The neutron generator NGM-17 consists of the elements
shown in Table I.
The radiation source is located on the service console
~see Fig. 1! and connected to the accelerating voltage power
supply with a high-voltage cable 6 m long. The accelerating
voltage cable serves also to carry the high frequency power
to provide a discharge in the ion source of the accelerating
tube. Figure 2 shows the gas-filled accelerating tube UT-01.
The working gas is a mixture of deuterium and tritium at a
pressure of 0.1 Pa. Titanium absorbers are applied as the gas
storage. Gas pressure in the tube is controlled by the current
level through this absorber.
The target of the accelerating tube is a thin layer of
titanium, covering a copper substrate, which is water cooled.
The target is at zero potential. The tube target is saturated,
i.e., saturation of the target happens as a result of ion beam
bombardment. The size of the ion beam on the target is 20
mm in diameter. Application of the saturated target provides
a stable neutron flux during all lifetime of the accelerating
tube.
The NGM-17 neutron generator running experience
shows that it is necessary to apply feedback in the control
and the neutron yields to achieve stability of the neutron flux
at a level 5% ~Table II!. The optimal neutron flux monitor
for this purpose could be based on the natural diamond de-
tector registering charged fusion products. This kind of de-
tector provides a high spatial and energy resolution and has
high radiation damage resource.
Smooth variation of accelerating voltage and ion current
allow us to change the neutron flux in a very wide range—
more than seven times in order of magnitude. It allows us to
use NGM-17 for calibration of neutron detectors which have
various sensitivity and dynamic range.
The neutron generator NGM-17 can operate either in
continuous mode, or in the mode with modulated neutron
flux. The neutron flux modulation is controlled with the hf
power. The minimum duration of the front of the neutron
pulse thus does not exceed 7–10 ms. This operational mode
is very convenient in measurements of the dynamic range
and temporal resolution of neutron detectors. It is possible to
obtain neutron pulses of any desirable form with repetition
frequency up to 50 kHz using an external pulse shaping gen-
erator.
III. NEUTRON SPATIAL AND ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS
The commercial neutron detector was used for neutron
flux monitoring and neutron yield measurements. The detec-
tor @mixture ZnS ~Ag! and LiF# is enclosed in a polyethylene
moderator 115 mm diameter, and is covered with a Cd
shield. The detector calibration was carried out with the
Pu–Be neutron source. The control of the detector calibra-
TABLE I. Dimensions and masses of generator elements.
The name of a device Dimensions ~cm! Mass ~kg!
Radiation source ” 40370
O 120
Accelerating voltage supply ” 653100
O 150
Service console 1203903220 170
Data acquisition and control 1203653170 120
system

0034-6748/99/70(1)/1104/3/$15.00 1104 © 1999 American Institute of Physics

Rev. Sci. Instrum., Vol. 70, No. 1, January 1999 Kaschuck et al. 1105

FIG. 1. Neutron generator NGM-17. FIG. 3. Natural diamond and Si detector responses to 14 MeV neutrons.

FIG. 2. Accelerating tube.

FIG. 4. Gaussian fitting of neutron spectra measured with NDD, n/cm2 s.

TABLE II. Main parameters of the neutron generator NGM-17.

Parameter Parameter range

Neutron yield ~D-T tube! 11

10 neutron/s
Neutron yield ~D-D tube! 109 neutron/s
Accelerating voltage Up to 250 kV
Ion current Up to 7 mA
Instability of neutron flux 5%
Neutron flux modulation: Duration From 20 ms up to 1 s
Frequency From 1 Hz up to 50 kHz
Minimum distance to the generator 0.5 cm
target
FIG. 5. NGM-17 emission anisotropy.
1106 Rev. Sci. Instrum., Vol. 70, No. 1, January 1999 Kaschuck et al.

TABLE III. Comparison of predicted and measured neutron energies.

U ~kV! E Sln ~MeV! ^ E d & ~keV! E n ~MeV!

75 14.51 56.1 14.58

100 14.60 71.4 14.65
125 14.65 85.4 14.71
150 14.72 97.8 14.76
175 14.74 108.4 14.81

The full width at half maximum ~FWHM! is 220 and

FIG. 6. Neutron energy shift and FWHM vs ion energy.
tion stability was carried out with an alpha source. The sen-
sitivity of this flux monitor is constant in a neutron energy
range from 1 keV up to 1 MeV and smoothly decreases by a
factor of 2 with increasing neutron energy up to 14 MeV.
The detector was placed at a distance of exactly 3 m from the
generator target behind a concrete and polyethylene collima-
tor of 2 m long to reduce the influence of scattered neutrons.
In this geometry the intensity of neutron radiation follows
the law 1/R 2 with an accuracy of 3%; here R is the distance
between the target and detector.
Neutron spatial and energy distribution in generators
with sealed tubes are determined by the construction of the
radiation source. Small radiation source volume and zero po-
tential of the target allow us to provide a D–T neutron spec-
trum with minimum distortions. So we can use NGM-17 as a
neutron source for calibration of precise D–T neutron spec-
trometers. The detailed measurements of energy and spatial
neutron distributions were carried out with the Si surface-
barrier and natural diamond detector.3 Figure 3 shows the
spectra obtained with these detectors under angle 96° at a
distance of 10 cm from the target at E d 5150 keV.
275 keV for silicon and diamond detectors respectively. The
minimum FWHM measured by the silicon detector at E d
575 keV is 200 keV. Figure 4 shows Gaussian fitting of the
neutron spectra measured by the diamond detector at a dis-
tance 10 cm from targets under various angles to the direc-
tion of an ion beam.
Figure 5 shows the anisotropy of D–T neutron emission
of the NGM-17 obtained from these measurements.
The decrease of D–T neutron flux at angles larger than
90° can be explained by the absorption and scattering in
construction materials of the radiation source. Figure 6
shows the dependence of the shift and width of D-T neutron
line versus the energy of accelerated deuterons from 75 up to
175 keV obtained with the Si detector at a 0° angle.
Table III shows the results of calculations of average
energies of deuterons in the generator target E d and corre-
sponding neutron energies E n versus accelerating voltage U.
The analysis of these data show a possible systematic
energy shift on 60 keV at Si detector calibration.
IV. SUMMARY
The generator NGM-17 provides significant neutron
yield, smart control, and operates in either continuous or
pulse mode. It can be used for calibration of most, if not any,
neutron detectors. Because of its small size and portability
this type of neutron generator is suitable for ITER neutron
diagnostic calibration.
1
J. D. Strachan et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 61, 3501 ~1990!.
2
G. J. Sadler et al., Workshop on Diagnostics for ITER, Varenna, 1997 ~to
be published!.
3
A. V. Krasilnikov et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 553 ~1996!.