The ALTO project at IPN Orsay

In order to probe neutron rich radioactive noble gases produced by photo-fission, a PARRNe1 experiment (Production d'Atomes Radioactifs Riches en Neutrons) has been carried out at CERN. The incident electron beam of 50 MeV was delivered by the LIL machine: LEP Injector Linac. The experiment allowed to compare under the same conditions two production methods of radioactive noble gases: fission induced by fast neutrons and photo-fission. The obtained results show that the use of the electrons is a promising mode to get intense neutron rich ion beams. Thereafter, the success of this photo-fission experiment, a conceptual design for the installation at IPN Orsay of a 50 MeV electron accelerator close to the PARRNe-2 device has been worked out: ALTO Project. This work has started within a collaboration between IPNO, LAL and CERN groups.