High-power, pulsed bremsstrahlung source for inducing photofission

This paper describes the use of intense, pulsed bremsstrahlung for inducing photofission in fissionable material. 8-MV bremsstrahlung triggers photofission in depleted uranium (DU). Particle-in-cell and Monte-Carlo codes model the source, gamma and neutron production and transport, and detector response. A variety of detectors have been fielded successfully to measure fission in DU from delayed-neutron, delayed-gamma, and prompt-neutron signals. This work represents the first clean measurement of prompt photofission neutrons in an intense, pulsed-power environment.