Technology Transfer Department

Application sectors

Problem to solve

The service offers the opportunity to test and treat systems with electron beams and X-rays produced by a radiofrequency accelerator. The service is of interest for research and development activities for the qualification of prototypes or the optimization of processes that require the use of ionizing radiation. The fields of application are numerous: high energy physics, aerospace, materials science, nuclear fusion, cultural heritage conservation, and radiobiology.

Description

The REX facility is based on a compact S-band 5 MeV linear electron accelerator and its radiofrequency (RF) system. The structure is capable of delivering either electrons or X-rays by exploiting the bremsstrahlung process, using an electron-to-photon conversion target made of a removable tungsten target. Samples are irradiated in air inside a lead-shielded irradiation chamber measuring 40 x 40 x 80 cm³, at variable distances from the source—with a maximum spot diameter of 8 cm. The dose delivered to the target during irradiation is measured and monitored through an AC current transformer calibrated with a Faraday collector. Furthermore, the nominal energy of the 5 MeV electron beam can be reduced using active energy reduction techniques or a combination of active and passive methods, by changing the RF source settings (magnetron and modulator) or by employing aluminum degraders.

Research group involved