The power of the proton beam of a high-power spallation
neutron source generally ranges from 100 kW to several MW. The
distribution of the power density of the beam on the target is
critical for the stable operation of the high-power spallation
target. This study proposes a beam monitoring method that involves
restoring the image of a high-power proton beam spot on a target
based on the principle of pinhole imaging by using the
back-streaming of secondary neutrons from the spallation
target. Fast and indirect imaging of the beam spot can be achieved
at a distance of tens of meters from the target. The proposed method
of beam monitoring can flexibly adjust the size of the pinhole and
the measurement distance to control the intensity of flux of the
secondary neutrons according to the demands of the detection system,
which is far from the high-radiation target area. The results of
simulations showed that the proposed method can be used to restore
the beam spot of the incident proton by using the point response
function and images of the secondary neutrons. Based on the target
and the Back-n beamline in the CSNS, the effectiveness of this
method has also been confirmed by means of Monte Carlo simulation.