NG-24 Neutron Generator for Nuclear Medicine and Thermonuclear Research

The advancement of radiation technologies is largely dependent on the development and optimization of sources of radiation. Neutron generators with sealed tubes are promising types of such sources portable, safe in the off state, simple and convenient to operate electrophysical sources of fast neutrons. Their principle of operation is based on the acceleration of deuterium and tritium ions to energy 100300 keV onto a saturated or solid-state target. Neutron with energy 14.1 MeV are produced in the reaction 3H(d, n)4He. Owing to the signicant reaction cross section (5 b) at 107 keV it is possible to obtain neutron ux 1011 sec1 or more by using relatively small-size setups [1, 2]. Neutron generators are used for well-logging and laboratory analysis of substances as well as in commercial enterprises, detection of explosives, treatment of cancer, analysis of the surfaces of planets in the solar system, and thermonuclear research. Among high-power generators with a sealed tube are setups with neutron ux exceeding 1010 sec1. Currently, the most powerful domestic neutron generators with sealed tubes are NG-14 and -24 [3, 4].