Bright Laser-Driven Neutron Source Based on the Relativistic Transparency of Solids

Neutrons are unique particles to probe samples in many ?elds of research ranging from biology to material sciences to engineering and security applications. Access to bright, pulsed sources is currently<br/>limited to large accelerator facilities and there has been a growing need for compact sources over the recent years. Short pulse laser driven neutron sources could be a compact and relatively cheap way to<br/>produce neutrons with energies in excess of 10 MeV. For more than a decade experiments have tried to obtain neutron numbers suf?cient for applications. Our recent experiments demonstrated an ion acceleration mechanism based on the concept of relativistic transparency. Using this new mechanism, we produced an intense beam of high energy (up to 170 MeV) deuterons directed into a Be converter to<br/>produce a forward peaked neutron ?ux with a record yield, on the order of 1010 n=sr. We present results comparing the two acceleration mechanisms and the ?rst short pulse laser generated neutron radiograph.