On March 5, 2026, the Neutron Technology Development Station at the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) of the Institute of High Energy Physcis of the Chinese Academy of Sciences successfully delivered its first neutron beam and entered beam commissioning. Preliminary results from beam performance tests met expectations. This marks the successful completion of the equipment development and installation, making it the first beamline under CSNS-II to achieve beam delivery since construction began in January 2024.

The Neutron Technology Development Station is China’s first dedicated time-of-flight beamline based on a spallation source for testing cold and thermal neutrons. It offers multiple functions, low background noise, and high beam-time utilization efficiency. Over the past five years, the beamline team worked in close collaboration with various specialist groups to overcome a series of technical challenges, including neutron transport with small-angle beam splitting, the layout and rapid switching of multiple operating modes, and highly repeatable positioning at experimental end stations. These efforts ensured the high-quality implementation of the beamline’s design, fabrication, installation, and commissioning on schedule.

Positioned as an incubator for neutron technology, the beamline can support a wide range of neutron beam test research in materials, devices, methodologies, and metrology. Once operational, it will provide urgently needed test beam conditions for the domestic R&D and batch testing of high-end scientific instruments such as neutron detectors, neutron guides, neutron polarizers, and neutron choppers.

Fig 1: Neutron Wavelength Spectrum (Credit: IHEP)

Fig 2: Neutron Technology Development Station (Credit: IHEP)

Fig 3: Beam Delivery Site (Credit: IHEP)