TH1I1
ANL, Lemont, Illinois, USA
The CARIBU facility at Argonne National Laboratory has been providing to users low-energy and reaccelerated beams of neutron-rich fission fragments for about a decade. These were obtained from a gas catcher system thermalizing fission fragments from a roughly 1 Ci 252Cf source that were then extracted as a low-energy beam that is purified by successive mass separation in a high-resolution separator and an MR-TOF system. While the system provided world unique beams, obtaining the required thin 252Cf source turned out to be an unreliable process that has hampered sustained operation. To remedy this situation, CARIBU is now being upgraded to nuCARIBU that will use a neutron-generator system to induce neutron-induced fission on a thin foil of 235U located inside the gas catcher. This will provide a more controllable source of fission products and a roughly order of magnitude improvement in total yield. The neutron generator is based on the (p,7Li) reaction with the beam from a compact high-intensity 6 MeV cyclotron hitting a high-power solid lithium target surrounded by a moderator. The nuCARIBU system, its expected performance, connection to ATLAS and current status will be presented.
