  Commissioning of the new high-intensity ultracold neutron (UCN) source at the
Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) has started in 2009. The design goal of this new
generation high intensity UCN source is to surpass by a factor of ~100 the
current ultracold neutron densities available for fundamental physics research,
with the greatest thrust coming from the search for a neutron electric dipole
moment. The PSI UCN source is based on neutron production via proton induced
lead spallation, followed by neutron thermalization in heavy water and neutron
cooling in a solid deuterium crystal to cold and ultracold energies. A
successful beam test with up to 2 mA proton beam on the spallation target was
conducted recently. Most source components are installed, others being finally
mounted. The installation is on the track for the first cool-down and UCN
production in 2010.
