Self-pinched lithium beam transport experiments on SABRE

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:419768

Hanson, D L; Olson, C L; Poukey, J W; Shokir, I; Cuneo, M E; Menge, P R; Johnston, R R ^[1]; Welch, D R ^[2]

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1. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2. Mission Research Corp., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Self-pinched transport of ion beams has many advantages for ion-driven ICF applications involving high yield and energy production. The authors are currently preparing for a self-pinched lithium beam transport experiment on the SABRE accelerator. There are three transport elements that must eventually be demonstrated: (1) efficient lithium beam generation and ballistic transport to a focus at the self-pinched transport channel entrance; (2) self-pinched transport in the channel, requiring optimized injection conditions and gas breakdown; and (3) self-pinched transport of the equilibrated beam from the channel into free space, with associated aiming and stability considerations. In the present experiment, a hollow annular lithium beam from an applied-B extraction ion diode will be focused to small radius (r {le} 2 cm) in a 60 cm long ballistic focus section containing argon gas at a pressure of a few Torr. The self-pinched transport channel will contain a low pressure background gas of 10--40 mTorr argon to allow sufficient net current to confine the beam for long distance transport. IPROP simulations are in progress to optimize the design of the ballistic and self-pinched transport sections. Progress on preparation of this lithium self-pinched transport experiment, including a discussion of transport system design, important gas breakdown issues, and diagnostics, will be presented.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratory
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 419768
• Report Number(s): CONF-960634--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BEAM NEUTRALIZATION
BEAM PRODUCTION
BEAM TRANSPORT
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
INERTIAL FUSION DRIVERS
ION BEAMS
THERMIONIC DIODES