PSAIF: the PS-ACOL irradiation facility at CERN

Since the end of 1990, CERN has been operating an irradiation facility behind the antiproton production target. The target is hit by 26 GeV protons from the PS (proton synchrotron); the antiprotons are collected by the ACOL machine (antiproton collector) The strong emission of secondary high-energy particles allows the irradiation of small items, in an environment typical of the particle accelerators and of future multi-TeV detectors. On-line measurements can be carried out during the irradiation. Dosimetry, as well as neutron-flux measurements by activation detectors, were carried out. The irradiation facility, as well as the dosimetric methods, are described and the results are given