Modeling the neutron yield of a therapeutic thermal neutron source driven with a repetitively pulsed electron linac

An electron linac, fitted with a standard X-ray converter, can produce high neutron yields in materials with low photonuclear threshold energies, such as D and /sup 9/Be. This paper discusses the preliminary MCNP modeling of a therapeutic thermal neutron source driven with a repetitively pulsed electron linac operated in the CW mode. Preliminary results indicate that a 10 MeV, 10 kW electron linac can produce in excess of 3/spl times/10/sup 12/ n/sec in a 9.42 L tank of heavy water. Current modeling results are discussed.