Neutron spectra produced by 30, 35 and 40Â MeV proton beams at KIRAMS MC-50 cyclotron with a thick beryllium target

Neutrons over a wide range of energies are produced by bombarding a 1.05 cm thick beryllium target with protons of different energies delivered by the MC-50 Cyclotron of the Korea Institute of Radiological Medical Sciences (KIRAMS). The neutron flux Φ(En) versus neutron energy En, produced by protons of 30, 35, and 40 MeV energies, was obtained by using the GEANT4 code with a data-based hadronic model. For the experimental validation of the simulated neutron spectra, a number of pure aluminum and iron oxide samples were irradiated with the neutrons produced by 30, 35, and 40 MeV protons at 20 μA beam current. The gamma-ray activities of 24Na and 56Mn produced, respectively, through 27Al(n,α)24Na and 56Fe(n,p)56Mn reactions were measured by a HPGe detector. The neutron flux Φ(En) at each neutron energy from the simulation was multiplied with the evaluated cross-sections σ(En) of the respective nuclear reaction, and the summation ∑Φ(En)σ(En) was calculated over the neutron spectrum for each proton energy of 30, 35, and 40 MeV. The measured gamma-ray activities of 24Na and 56Mn were found in good agreement with the activities estimated by using the summed values of ∑Φ(En)σ(En) along with other parameters in a neutron activation method.