Adelphi Technology Inc

DD109 Neutron Generator

The generator is computer controlled via a graphical user interface and has a series of hardware safety interlocks for the protection of personnel and the generator itself. The generator requires two or three phase electrical power and we can typically work with customers to provide a unit that will work with the voltage and frequency levels available in your jurisdiction. The DD generators have easily replaceable subcomponents that can be installed in the field by customers or Adelphi Technicians. The generators has a controllable output level, up to 1x108 neutrons/sec If the pulsed generator option is chosen, a user supplied TTL voltage level (such as from a signal generator) can be used to switch on the generator. When the TTL level is asserted, the generator turns on to the selected output level, which is any yield up to it’s maximum output level, which for this machine is 1x108 neutrons/sec.

Like the DD-108, the DD-109 operates with an ion beam supplied by a microwave plasma ion source. Microwave power is delivered by an easily replaceable, inexpensive magnetron. The ion source uses the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) effect to produce a high plasma density for high current and high D+ content. The fast neutron source size can be adjusted by selecting the aperture and target geometries according to customer specifications. Both pulsed and continuous operations are available. Minimum pulse lengths of 100 µS have been achieved. Since the generator is easily serviceable, it can have a long lifetime for a laboratory and commercial system requiring continuous operation.

The generator can be mounted in any desired position (e.g. vertical or horizontal). Several of the generators have been enclosed in radiation shielding/moderator structures designed for customer specifications. These generators have been proven to be useful for prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA), neutron activation analysis (NAA) and fast neutron radiography. Thus these generators make excellent fast, epithermal and thermal neutron sources for laboratories and industrial applications that require neutrons with safe operation, small footprint, low cost and small regulatory burden.