Spallation neutron sources, though very effective in neutron production,
are large, expensive and presently would involve certain difficulties
in their operation (e.g., beam trips). Contrary, an electron driver,
although much less effective in neutron production, is rather cheap
and compact machine that might also bring advantages in terms of reliability.
In this paper we investigate the use of an external neutron source
(irradiator) driven by an electron accelerator. The system is based on a
compact spherical geometry with electron beam interacting with an inner
surface of the target-envelope made of enriched uranium. Neutron balance
is improved by using different reflecting materials. We show that with an
incident electron beam of the order of 6~MW neutron fluxes up to a few
10e+14~n/cm^2/s could be reached in the sample irradiation
zone.
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