  The neutron time-of-flight (n_TOF) facility at the European Laboratory for
Particle Physics (CERN) is a pulsed white-spectrum neutron spallation source
producing neutrons for two experimental areas: the Experimental Area 1 (EAR1),
located 185 m horizontally from the target, and the Experimental Area 2 (EAR2),
located 20 m above the target. The target, based on pure lead, is impacted by a
high-intensity 20-GeV/c pulsed proton beam. The facility was conceived to study
neutron-nucleus interactions for neutron kinetic energies between a few meV to
several GeV, with applications of interest for nuclear astrophysics, nuclear
technology, and medical research. After the second-generation target reached
the end of its lifetime, the facility underwent a major upgrade during CERN's
Long Shutdown 2 (LS2, 2019-2021), which included the installation of the new
third-generation neutron target. The first and second-generation targets were
based on water-cooled massive lead blocks and were designed focusing on EAR1,
since EAR2 was built later. The new target is cooled by nitrogen gas to avoid
erosion-corrosion and contamination of cooling water with radioactive lead
spallation products. Moreover, the new design is optimized also for the
vertical flight path and EAR2. This paper presents an overview of the target
design focused on both physics and thermo-mechanical performance, and includes
a description of the nitrogen cooling circuit and radiation protection studies.
