Accelerators and Neutron Capture Therapy

Within the frame of Accelerator Based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (AB‐BNCT), the 7Li (p,n) 7Be reaction, relatively near its energy threshold is one of the most promising, due to its high yield and low neutron energy. In this work a thick LiF target irradiated with a proton beam was studied as a neutron source. The 1.88–2.0 MeV proton beam was produced by the tandem accelerator TANDAR at CNEA's facilities in Buenos Aires. A water‐filled phantom, containing a boron sample was irradiated with the resulting neutron flux. The 10B(n,αγ)7Li boron neutron capture reaction produces a 0.478 MeV gamma ray in 94% of the cases. The neutron yield was measured through the detection of this gamma ray using a hyperpure germanium detector with an anti‐Compton shield. In addition, the thermal neutron flux was evaluated at different depths inside the phantom using bare and Cd‐covered gold foils. A maximum neutron thermal flux of 1.4×108 cm−2s−1mA−1 was obtained at 4.2 cm from the phantom surface. In order to optimize the ...