LINAC2026 - 33rd Linear Accelerator Conference

The High-Power Gallium-Indium Liquid Target at SARAF: Design, Validation, and Multi-Disciplinary Applications

Not scheduled

2h

Daejeon Convention Center

Poster Presentation MC3.A04: Proton linac projects Poster Session

Speaker

Dr Sergey Vaintraub (Soreq Nuclear Research Center)

Description

The Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF) is advancing to Phase II to deliver continuous wave proton and deuteron beams (5-40 MeV, ~5 mA). Handling the resulting ~200 kW beam power requires a robust dump capable of dissipating high power densities. To meet this challenge, a windowless liquid Gallium-Indium (Ga-In) jet target, GaLiT, was designed. It generates a stable ~5 m/s jet with a verified thickness of 5.6±0.3 mm, sufficient to stop the incident beam. Ga-In offers superior heat transfer and reduced chemical hazards compared to liquid lithium.
Beyond serving as a beam dump, this system functions as a high-intensity neutron source, designated MARZEPAN, yielding >10^15 n/s with energies up to ~45 MeV. This facility supports a broad spectrum of physics applications:
Fusion Material Research: Simulating reactor environments and radiation damage studies.
Astrophysics: Enabling research into stellar nucleosynthesis via tunable neutron spectra.
Fundamental Nuclear Physics: Producing short-lived isotopes via systems like SARONA for weak interactions and cross-section measurements.
This contribution presents the design, prototypes, and scientific applications of GaLiT.

Footnotes

• • I. Mardor et al., Front. Phys. 11 (2023) 1248191
    ** - I. Eliyahu et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 1053 (2023) 168320.