Electron emitter pulsed-type cylindrical IEC

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:338505

Miley, G H; Gu, Y; Stubbers, R; Zich, R ^[1]; Sved, J ^[2]; Anderl, R; Hartwell, J ^[3]

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1. Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States). Fusion Studies Lab.
2. DASA, Bremmen (Germany)
3. INEL, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

A cylindrical version of the single grid Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) device (termed the C-device) has been developed for use as a 2.5-MeV D-D fusion neutron source for neutron activation analysis. The C-device employs a hollow-tube type cathode with similar anodes backed up by ``reflector`` dishes. The resulting discharge differs from a conventional hollow cathode discharge, by creating an explicit ion beam which is ``pinched`` in the cathode region. Resulting fusion reactions generate {approximately}10{sup 6} neutron/s. A pulsed version is under development for applications requiring higher fluxes. Several pulsing techniques are under study, including an electron emitter (e-emitter) assisted discharge in a thorated tungsten wire emitter located behind a slotted area in the reflector dishes. Pulsing is initiated after establishing a low power steady-state discharge by pulsing the e-emitter current using a capacitor switch type circuit. The resulting electron jet, coupled with the discharge by the biased slot array, creates a strong pulse in the pinched ion beam. The pulse length/repetition rate are controlled by the e-emitter pulse circuit. Typical parameters in present studies are {approximately}30{micro}s, 10Hz and 1-amp ion current. Corresponding neutron measurements are an In-foil type activation counter for time averaged rates. Results for a wide variety of operating conditions are presented.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-94ID13223
• OSTI ID: 338505
• Report Number(s): CONF-970559--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
40 CHEMISTRY
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BEAM SHAPING
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTRON EMISSION
ICF DEVICES
ION BEAMS
NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS
NEUTRON SOURCES
PINCH EFFECT