Elaboration of an effective neutron generator for short-lived isotope analysis

Preliminary results of the use of a laboratory pulsed laser neutron generator for effective material activation analysis of short-lived isotopes (10 ms–30 s) are delivered. The generator function is based on the acceleration of laser-produced plasma containing deuterium by an external magnetic field that leads to a plasma-bundle velocity up to 3×108 cm/s. A fast-neutron yield of about 107–108 (d–d reaction) with a pulse duration not more than 100 ns is expected. The main peculiarity of such a neutron source is connected with the substantially smaller X-ray background that accompanies a neutron-irradiation process in traditional types of generators. It gives a possibility to improve the detection conditions as well as to increase the sensitivity of the analysis. The neutron generator may be more effective for the content determination of isotopes such as carbon-12, fluorine-19, oxygen-16, sulfur-34, gold-197, and some others.