Feasibility Study and Future Plans for HIPOS Project

This paper describes the proposal for feasibility study of unique and very innovative facility called High Intensity Positron Beam (HIPOS). The HIPOS facility will complement the High Flux Reactor (HFR) facilities, offering also the possibility to carry-out scanning positron microscope (SPM). The basic concept is to use the high flux of the HFR to build-up an high intensity, continuous, positron source based on (n,) reaction (the operation of SPM was first time demonstrated in 1997 with using a pulsed positron beam). The generated gamma radiation will be used consequently for generation of electron-positron pairs with successive separation of positrons. The purpose of this new facility is to make available a new method for investigation and testing based on annihilation phenomenon of intense beam of positron. Such methods will be capable to cope with future challenges in many scientific fields, in particular, biotechnology, medicine, space, nanotechnology and material science. For fundamental reasons an image of defects at nanometer resolution by the present generation of micro-beams is impossible. Therefore, a more advanced dual micro-beam system will be proposed, where the defects are stained with previous positrons. Then a scanned electron beam with nanometer spot size is sensitive to the stained defects. This methodology offers to study structural homogeneity and defect characteristics causes the sample electron momentum distribution to narrow, and results in a single state with a lifetime of around which are not visible by conventional electron based microscopy (Scanning electron microscopy or Transmission electron microscopy). The real potential power of the SPM can be achieved when the intense reactor-based positron source at the HFR is made available by HIPOS.

ZEMAN Andrej; 

2006-11-23

Joint Research Centre

JRC32090

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC32090,