The ⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be reaction, which leads to a soft neutron field, is often chosen as the neutron producing reaction used for accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy (AB-BNCT). This study aims to design a compact beam shaping assembly (BSA) and auxiliary system for a ⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be reaction-based neutron source and to evaluate the relationship between the BSA design and the consequent neutron beam quality for further optimization.

In this study, five types of moderator shapes for the BSA model were designed. Both the in-air and in-phantom figures of merit were considered to evaluate the performance of the BSA designs. It was found that the BSA with a bi-tapered and air-gapped design could generate a high-intensity epithermal neutron beam, which could be used to treat deep-seated brain tumors within a reasonable time.

导致软中子场的⁷ Li(p,n) ⁷ Be 反应通常被选为用于基于加速器的硼中子俘获疗法 (AB-BNCT) 的中子产生反应。本研究旨在为基于⁷ Li(p,n) ⁷ Be 反应的中子源设计紧凑的束流成形组件 (BSA) 和辅助系统，并评估 BSA 设计与随后的中子束质量之间的关系，以进一步优化.

在这项研究中，为 BSA 模型设计了五种类型的减速器形状。在评估 BSA 设计的性能时，我们考虑了空中和虚拟品质因数。结果发现，具有双锥形和气隙设计的 BSA 可以产生高强度的超热中子束，可在合理的时间内用于治疗深部脑肿瘤。