Novel CANS Sources in Japan and Germany – from Transportable Sources to High Brilliance User Facilities
1st July 2024
In June 2024, two prominent representatives from leading Japanese and German neutron societies convened at Forschungszentrum Jülich: Dr. Yoshie Otake, Head of the Neutron Beam Technology Team at the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics (RAP) in Japan, and Prof. Mirijam Zobel, Director at the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS-3) and Head of the Institute of Crystallography at RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
They discussed the wide range of opportunities and expanding horizons enabled by the development of novel compact accelerator-driven neutron sources (CANS) in Japan and Germany.
In Japan, the RIKEN Center has established a strong track record with CANS at small-scale sources. Neutron scattering experiments, including engineering diffraction, PGAA, imaging, and SANS, are conducted at two accelerator-based CANS: RANS (7 MeV Proton, Be(p,n)) and RANS-II (2.49 MeV Proton, Li(p,n)). Recently, RIKEN has been advancing the development of a transportable neutron source system for outdoor use. This system can be employed in the non-destructive assessment of infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, to prevent accidents caused by material failure or deterioration. This transportable CANS source exemplifies the industrial and societal need for neutrons in material research and characterization.
In contrast, the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at Forschungszentrum Jülich excels in developing high-current CANS (HiCANS) sources. An example is the High Brilliance Neutron Source (HBS), which is being designed to support up to 25 instruments as a user facility at three target stations in Germany.
Following the success of the visit to Forschungszentrum Jülich, the Japanese and German representatives are looking forward to collaborating in future scientific exchanges and CANS research projects. They are also committed to strengthening the relationship between their respective neutron research communities.
Further information:
Recent developments in transportable neutron systems