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Proof-of-principle demonstration of epithermal neutron resonance spectroscopy utilizing a compact laser-driven electron accelerator.

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Title: Proof-of-principle demonstration of epithermal neutron resonance spectroscopy utilizing a compact laser-driven electron accelerator.
Authors: Jie Feng1, Jie Ren2, Hao Xu1, Mingyang Zhu1, Bingzhan Shi1, Guoqiang Zhang3, Jie Bao2, Wenchao Yan1, Yifei Li4, Jinguang Wang4, Xin Lu4, Liming Chen1,5 lmchen@sjtu.edu.cn, Jie Zhang1,5 jzhang1@sjtu.edu.cn
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 10/7/2025, Vol. 122 Issue 40, p1-5. 5p.
Subjects: Neutron resonance, Particle accelerators, Properties of matter, High resolution spectroscopy, Radioactive substances, Neutron generators, Nondestructive testing
Abstract: Epithermal neutron resonance spectroscopy is a key nondestructive approach for discerning material properties. However, the existing spallation and accelerator-based photonuclear neutron sources employed in this spectroscopy are huge and immobile, restricting their application in specialized scenarios. Here, we demonstrate a compact short-pulsed photonuclear neutron source driven by a terawatt femtosecond laser-based electron accelerator. After moderation, this neutron source maintains an outstanding time-resolution of 0.8 μs at 5 eV, and its energy resolution can be less than3%at a flight distance 1.72 m. When this compact neutron resonance spectroscopy facility is utilized to examine silver (Ag) and indium (In) metal sheets with a high signal-to-noise ratio, it distinctly reveals the shape of resonance absorption peaks for 115In at 1.46 eV and 109Ag at 5.19 eV. This laser-driven electron accelerator offers a solution, overcoming traditional source drawbacks and holding great potential for on-site nuclear material analysis and high-precision nuclear data acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Engineering Source
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Abstract:Epithermal neutron resonance spectroscopy is a key nondestructive approach for discerning material properties. However, the existing spallation and accelerator-based photonuclear neutron sources employed in this spectroscopy are huge and immobile, restricting their application in specialized scenarios. Here, we demonstrate a compact short-pulsed photonuclear neutron source driven by a terawatt femtosecond laser-based electron accelerator. After moderation, this neutron source maintains an outstanding time-resolution of 0.8 μs at 5 eV, and its energy resolution can be less than3%at a flight distance 1.72 m. When this compact neutron resonance spectroscopy facility is utilized to examine silver (Ag) and indium (In) metal sheets with a high signal-to-noise ratio, it distinctly reveals the shape of resonance absorption peaks for 115In at 1.46 eV and 109Ag at 5.19 eV. This laser-driven electron accelerator offers a solution, overcoming traditional source drawbacks and holding great potential for on-site nuclear material analysis and high-precision nuclear data acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:00278424
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2518397122