Ion irradiation is well suited to simulate neutron irradiation because primary knock-on atoms (PKA) produced by neutron collisions are self ions of the target. As the main difference, the energy spectrum of ion-produced PKAs is somewhat broader than in the case of fast neutrons. Studies of the combined effects of target damaging, ion implantation effects, helium and hydrogen production, and the occurrence of nuclear reactions should be performed by co-irradiation experiments (dual or triple beam irradiation). The JANNUS project (Joint Accelerators for Nanosciences and NUclear Simulation) was started in 2002 in the frame of a collaboration between CEA (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique) and CNRS-IN2P3 (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-Institut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique des Particules). Two experimental sites are involved. At Saclay, three electrostatic accelerators are being coupled: a new 3 MV Pelletron (TM) machine equipped with an ECR multi-charged ion source, a 2.5 MV single ended Van de Graaff and a 2.25 MV General Ionex tandem. At Orsay, the 2 MV tandem ARAMIS and the 190 kV ion implanter IRMA are being coupled with a 200 kV TECNAI (TM) transmission electron microscope to allow simultaneous co-irradiation and observation. This paper will first discuss both advantages and limitations of the use of ion beam irradiation to simulate neutron irradiation. A technical description of both set-ups is then presented, and some details will be given concerning multi-irradiation facilities running worldwide. The main application fields of JANNUS will be further detailed.
JANNUS: experimental validation at the scale of atomic modelling