The Argonne ACWL, a potential accelerator-based neutron source for BNCT

The CWDD (Continuous Wave Deuterium Demonstrator) accelerator was designed to accelerate 80 mA cw of D{sup {minus}} to 7.5 MeV. Most of the hardware for the first 2 MeV was installed at Argonne and major subsystems had been commissioned when program funding from the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization ended in October 1993. Renamed the Argonne Continuous Wave Linac (ACWL), we are proposing to complete it to accelerate either deuterons to 2 MeV or protons to 33.5 MeV. Equipped with a beryllium or other light-element target, it would make a potent source of neutrons (on the order of 10{sup 13} n/s) for BNCT and/or neutron radiography. Project status and proposals for turning ACWL into a neutron source are reviewed, including the results of a computational study that was carried out to design a target/moderator to produce an epithermal neutron beam for BNCT.