Laser-driven neutron sources and their applications

   The interaction of neutrons with matter is highly different from that of charged particles or electromagnetic waves. This enables complementary measurements of matter and provides an insight into the structure of materials and objects from a new perspective.  Contrary to other diagnostics, neutrons penetrate matter easily, especially in the high-Z regime. This enables probing of samples encapsulated in high-Z materials or bulk properties of high-Z matter, which proofs to be difficult or even impossible e.g. with optical diagnostics or X-rays.

The unique resonance structure of neutron capture and scattering reactions can be used as a fingerprint to identify materials and their elemental composition. Furthermore, the width of these resonances serves as a diagnostic tool to determine the bulk temperature of a (high-Z) sample.

Laser-driven neutron sources have aroused great interest during the last decade. The talk will give an overview of the advancements of the last years and future perspectives regarding application feasibilities.