In situ study of the blistering effect of copper with a thin lithium layer on the neutron yield in the Li-7(p,n)Be-7 reaction

A vacuum insulated tandem accelerator was used to study the effect of blistering on the neutron yield under 2-MeV proton bombardment of lithium target. The target is a thin lithium layer evaporated onto an efficiently cooled copper substrate. Targets with lithium thickness from 1 to 84 mu m were irradiated by protons up to fluence of 6.3 10(20) cm(-2) which was significantly greater than the blistering threshold. The state of the targets surface was observed using long-distance microscope, video camera, infrared camera. The neutron dose was measured by dosimeters, the neutron flux density was measured by neutron detector. After irradiation, the targets were analyzed on Raman spectrometer, single crystal diffractometer, electron microscope, scanning profilometer, scanning electron microscope, atomic emission spectrometer. The article describes the experiment, presents the results obtained and notes their significance in the enhancement of a target for the neutron source used in boron neutron capture therapy.