The SORGENTINA-RF project aims at developing a 14 MeV fusion neutron source featuring an emission rate in the order of 5–7 × 1013 s−1. The plant relies on a metallic water-cooled rotating target and a deuterium (50%) and tritium (50%) ion beam. Beyond the main focus of medical radioisotope production, the source may represent a multi-purpose neutron facility by implementing a series of neutron-based techniques. Among the different engineering and technological issues to be addressed, the production of incondensable gases and corrosion product into the rotating target deserves a dedicated investigation. In this study, a preliminary analysis is carried out, considering the general layout of the target and the present choice of the target material.

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The SORGENTINA-RF project aims to develop a 14 MeV fusion neutron source to produce medical radioisotopes with special focus on $$^{99}$$ 99 Mo. The facility is based on a positive ion source with an acceleration stage to produce a deuterium (D$$^{+})$$ + ) and tritium (T$$^{+})$$ + ) ion beam that, impacting on a titanium-coated rotating target, allows fusion reactions to take place. Maximizing the neutron production rate is one of the main issues to be addressed in the project and the optimization of some key parameters of the ion beam is of paramount importance in this regard. In this study, a methodology is discussed to reach a definition of the beam characteristics for an effective and sustainable operation of the plant. The most convenient layout that has been found out is based on a single ion source fed by a deuterium and tritium gas mixture. Eventually, a series of considerations about the operation of the ion source and fuel cycle have been drawn.

A study devoted to assessing the neutronic performance of the SORGENTINA-RF fusion neutron source is here presented. The calculation is performed considering the characteristics of the accelerated mixed deuterium/tritium ion beam from the ion source, the transport of ions into the titanium layer that constitutes the ion beam target, their implantation and the fusion reaction cross section. An investigation has been done by varying the ion composition of the beam in order to assess if and to what extent diatomic and triatomic ion species affect the neutron emission rate of the plant. This calculation is also instrumental to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of equipping the ion source with a filtering system to remove secondary ions from the beam.

An analytical study, corroborated by Monte Carlo simulations, is presented which describes the interaction of a 300  keV–830 mA proton beam with a Cu and Al dumping system. The analytical calculations rely on the theoretical framework of the Particle Induced X-ray Emission, while the Monte Carlo simulations are performed by means of the GEANT4 toolkit. The case study is related to the project SORGENTINA-RF fusion neutron source and in particular to the tests devoted to assess the performance of the ion source of the plant. The results provide a detailed physical insight of the main processes occurring in the beam dump material, and are also important to give some realistic figures of the radiation emission expected during operation.