Resent advancement of high power laser technologies enable us to open a new horizon of neutron sources along with conventional ones based on accelerators and nuclear reactors. Various types of short-pulse, high-fluence neutron sources have been developed including laser-driven fusion, laser accelerated ion beams, photonuclear reactions, and cluster-explosions, as well as various types of accelerators. And, these neutrons are used in a wide variety of applications for such as material science, medical science, non-destructive investigation, security, and neutron radiography.

The first international meeting was held in 2013 by setting laser-assisted neutron sources and applications as key terms, in order to overview the status and future prospects of relevant fields. In the late 2015, a national project of Japan has started aiming at innovative improvement of compact neutron sources based on both laser and accelerators dedicated for industrial applications. Upon these backgrounds, the 2nd forum will be held in order to provide an opportunity for participants to exchange mutual information and activate their own researches.