LICORNE: A new and unique facility for producing intense, kinematically focused neutron beams at the IPN Orsay

Abstract

LICORNE is a new neutron source recently installed at the tandem accelerator of the Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay, where a Li7-beam is used to bombard a hydrogen-containing target to produce an intense forward-directed neutron beam. The directionality of the beam, which is the unique characteristic of LICORNE, will permit the installation of γ-ray detectors dedicated to the investigation of fission fragment de-excitation which are unimpeded by neutrons from the source. A first experimental program will focus on the measurement of prompt γ-ray emission in the neutron-induced fission of fertile and fissile isotopes at incident neutron energies relevant for the core design of Generation-IV nuclear reactors. Other potential uses of the LICORNE facility for both fundamental and applied physics research are also presented. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2013.