A neutron beam facility at SPIRAL-2

International audienceThe future SPIRAL-2 facility is mainly composed of a high-power superconducting driver LINAC, delivering a high-intensity deuteron, proton and heavy ions beams. The first two beams are particularly well suited to the construction of a neutron beam and irradiation facility called Neutrons for Science (NFS). Thick C and Be target-converters with incident deuteron beam will produce an intense white neutron spectrum, while thin 7Li target and incident proton beam allows generating quasi-monoenergetic neutrons. The 1–40MeV neutron energy range will be covered and characterized by very intense fluxes available. The primary ion beam characteristics (energy, time resolution, intensity, etc.) are adequate to create a neutron time-of-flight facility. Irradiation stations for neutron, proton and deuteron induced reactions could also be built in order to perform cross-sections measurements by activation techniques. In this paper we will discuss the potential of this new installation to investigate numerous topics, both in fundamental and applied physics. In particular, cross section measurements could be performed for different purposes like nuclear data evaluation, fission and fusion technology, Accelerator Driven Systems, nuclear medicine, astrophysics, etc