China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) is an accelerator-based pulsed neutron source. It consists of a H-linac and proton rapid cycling synchrotron. Operating at 1.6 GeV and at 25 Hz repetition rate, CSNS is designed to deliver a beam power of 100 kW in phase 1, with the upgrade capability to 500 kW by raising the linac output energy and increasing the beam intensity.
Located in Dongguan (about 70 km north of Hong Kong), CSNS provides unprecedented opportunities for materials research and industrial development in China, particularly for the Greater Bay Area, encompassing Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and other major cities in Canton. With an initial investment of $2.2 Billion RMB ($331 Million USD), the CSNS is destined to become an international hub for materials research.
The facility produced its first neutron beam on August 28, 2017 and is now running at full power of 100 kw, reaching the design goal for phase 1. Altogether there are twenty beam ports which can accommodate 20+ instruments. Three instruments were included as part of the construction project: a general purpose powder diffractometer (GPPD) for crystallography and material science studies, a small angle neutron scattering (SANS) instrument for large scale structures such as polymers and biomolecules, and a neutron reflectometer for thin films and membranes. These instruments, which take full advantage of a broad neutron beam bandwidth, are designed to address the most pressing needs for a growing user community working on structure determination at atomic and nano scales.
