Nuclear Physics

High-energy particle accelerator laboratories probe the basic constituents of matter to understand the origins of our universe. Several experiments to be conducted in the near future will use polarized helium-3 as an electron beam target as a way of orienting the spin-axis on the neutron inside of helium-3. These experiments can require months of dedicated effort utilizing one-hundred person teams and a billion dollar laboratory. Xemed has identified a method of using its HeliBox technology together with a non-ferrous diaphragm pump to deliver hyperpolarized helium-3 gas to these experiments circulating at high pressure. This technology, presently under development, could improve the data acquisition rate of these experiments ten-fold or more, and allow consideration of even more challenging experiments that would otherwise be too long and costly.

Neutron scattering laboratories rely on hyperpolarized helium-3 to distinguish different neutron magnetic substates in the distributions of their scattered neutrons.  Current systems with small cylindrical vessels of helium-3 can analyze neutron trajectories only over a limited range of scattering angles. In order to gain a more complete understanding, however, many scattering angles must be measured, involving multiple measurements, complexity, and time. A few pioneering systems have demonstrated that large thin planar or arcing vessels of helium-3 can perform neutron polarization analysis over the full range of scattering angles concurrently. Xemed’s high productivity HeliBox-Z100 could offer even higher performance, with practical advantages of a more compact package, improved reliability, lower cost, and commercial support.