Intense pulsed neutron emission from a compact pyroelectric driven accelerator
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)
- National Nanomanufacturing Network, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01027 (United States)
Intense pulsed D-D neutron emission with rates of >10{sup 10} n/s during the pulse, pulse widths of approximately hundreds of nanoseconds and neutron yields of greater than 10 000 per pulse, are demonstrated in a compact pyroelectric accelerator. The accelerator consists of a small pyroelectric LiTaO{sub 3} crystal that provides the accelerating voltage and an independent compact spark plasma ion source. The crystal voltage versus temperature is characterized and compares well with theory. Results show neutron output per pulse that scales with voltage as V{sup {approx}}{sup 1.7}. These neutron yields match a simple model of the system at low voltages but are lower than predicted at higher voltages due to charge losses not accounted for in the model. Interpretation of the data against modeling provides understanding of the accelerator and in general pyroelectric LiTaO{sub 3} crystals operated as charge limited negative high voltage targets. The findings overall serve as the proof of principle and basis for pyroelectric neutron generators that can be pulsed, giving peak neutron rates orders of magnitude greater than previous work and notably increase the potential applications of pyroelectric based neutron generators.
- OSTI ID:
- 21185997
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 105, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3066131; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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