The Starfire deuterium-deuterium (DD) generator at the RSEL is capable of generating a neutron yield of 109 neutrons per second. The generator uses the fusion between two deuterium atoms to generate fast neutrons with an average energy of 2.45 MeV. The generator is capable of operating between 80 kV and 170 kV of anode voltage in the continuous mode. This neutron generator allows researchers to obtain a high yield of almost mono-energetic neutrons, which are helpful for the study of elemental and material properties of different samples. Thermal neutron flux can also be obtained using high-density polyethylene at the exit window. It can also be used for fast neutron radiography.
The Thermo-Fisher Scientific PULSED deuterium-tritium (DT) neutron generator produces a series of 10 microsecond wide 14 MeV neutron pulses with 1.0 to 2.0 x 106 neutrons per pulse at repetition rates up to 100 pulses per second. The ions of Deuterium and Tritium needed for the fusion reaction are generated by a ”penning” type ion source, which sparks through a DT gas mixture with a 2.5 kV and 2.0A current. Simultaneously, a voltage transformer introduces a 120kV field to accelerate the ions toward a DT target, and fusion occurs. The DT neutron generator is used in the graphite pile to determine experimental parameters of subcritical reactor facilities.