Exploring nuclear photonics with laser driven neutron source

Neutron beams have been providing dispensable tools for wide range of fields in modern science and engineering. Recently, a new type of pulsed neutron source has been developed, known as Laser-Driven Neutron Source (LDNS). The LDNSs utilize the laser-accelerated ions, including protons and deuterons as a primary beam and generate neutrons from a secondary target (lithium, beryllium, etc.) via nuclear reaction. Applying an additional moderator part, LDNSs can provide a broad energy range of neutrons (meV∼MeV). This paper aims to introduce the current status of LDNS and the results of application-oriented experiments implemented at Institute of Laser Engineering (ILE) of Japan.