Inertial electro-magnetostatic plasma neutron sources
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
Two types of systems are being studied experimentally as D-T plasma neutron sources. In both concepts, spherical convergence of either electrons or ions or both is used to produce a dense central focus within which D-T fusion reactions produce 14 MeV neutrons. One concept uses nonneutral plasma confinement principles in a Penning type trap. In this approach, combined electrostatic and magnetic fields provide a vacuum potential well within which electrons are confined and focused. A small (6 mm radius) spherical machine has demonstrated a focus of 30 {micro}m radius, with a central density of up to 35 times the Brillouin density limit of a static trap. The resulting electron plasma of up to several 10{sup 13} cm{sup {minus}3} provides a multi-kV electrostatic well for confining thermonuclear ions as a neutron source. The second concept (Inertial Electrostatic Confinement, or IEC) uses a high-transparence grid to form a global well for acceleration and confinement of ions. Such a system has demonstrated steady neutron output of 2 {times} 10{sup 10} s{sup {minus}1}. The present experiment will scale this to >10{sup 11} s{sup {minus}1}. Advanced designs based on each concept have been developed recently. In these proposed approaches, a uniform-density electron sphere forms an electrostatic well for ions. Ions so trapped may be focused by spherical convergence to produce a dense core. An alternative approach produces large amplitude spherical oscillations of a confined ion cloud by a small, resonant modulation of the background electrons. In both the advanced Penning trap approach and the advanced IEC approach, the electrons are magnetically insulated from a large (up to 100 kV) applied electrostatic field. The physics of these devices is discussed, experimental design details are given, present observations are analyzed theoretically, and the performance of future advanced systems are predicted.
- OSTI ID:
- 338499
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970559-; TRN: 99:005803
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 24. IEEE international conference on plasma science, San Diego, CA (United States), 19-23 May 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of IEEE conference record -- Abstracts; PB: 354 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Novel, spherically-convergent ion systems for neutron source and fusion energy production
The Los Alamos Penning Fusion eXperiment -- Ions