The nELBE Neutron Time-of-Flight Facility

The compact neutron-time-of-flight facility nELBE at the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf is currently being rebuilt. As the neutron radiator consists of a liquid-lead circuit no moderated neutrons are produced and also the background from capture gamma-rays is very small. The useful neutron spectrum extends from some tens of keV to about 10 MeV. nELBE is intended to deliver cross section data of fast neutron nuclear interactions e.g. for the transmutation of nuclear waste and an improvement of neutron physical simulations of innovative nuclear systems. The new experimental hall will allow measurements of angular distributions in neutron scattering. Inelastic neutron scattering, e.g. on 56Fe, has been studied with a double time-of-flight setup and with photon detectors to measure the gamma-rays produced in the process. The neutron total cross sections of Au and Ta were determined in a transmission experiment.