An Electron Accelerator for Detector Characterization with Incident Particle Energies Between 0.1 to 1 MeV*

Neutron decay provides a mechanism for studying the fundamental properties of the weak nuclear force. Modern neutron decay experiments require accurate energy reconstruction which must be corrected for energy loss due to bremsstrahlung radiation during the detection process. A linear, pulsed electron accelerator was designed using Autodesk Inventor and Kassiopeia and is currently under construction at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) in Durham, North Carolina. The completed accelerator will be mounted inside a pressure vessel filled with insulating gas to allow the accelerator to reach a peak energy of 1MeV. The accelerator will be used to study bremsstrahlung production and to characterize semiconductor detectors that are used to study Nab experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source.