| A photo-neutron converter (PNC) is a target used in electron linear accelerators (linac) to
produce a source of neutrons that may be used for studying the neutron damage of materials. The
Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC) utilizes a tungsten and zinc PNC with a 40 MeV electron beam
to produce a high flux of bremsstrahlung photons and neutrons. This work measures the flux of
photons and neutrons emitted from the PNC by irradiating gold and nickel foils at different
angles and measuring their activity. The experiment was simulated using Monte Carlo N-Particle
Transport (MCNP) to estimate the photon and neutron flux distributions. After irradiation, each
of the foil’s activity was measured using a high purity germanium detector. The simulated flux
distributions were then normalized to match experimental results. In this experimental
configuration, it was determined that there is a minimum expected neutron rate of (1.9 ± 0.4)
×1012 n/s from the PNC.
Key Words: PNC, Linac, IAC, MCNP |