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Tritium and neutron measurements of a solid state cell

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5281168

A solid state cold fusion'' cell was constructed to test for non-equilibrium fusion in a solid. The stimulus for the design was the hypothesis that the electrochemical surface layer in the Pons- Fleischmann cell could be replaced with a metal-insulator- semiconductor (MIS) barrier. Cells were constructed of alternating layers of palladium and silicon powders pressed into a ceramic form and exposed to deuterium gas at 110 psia resulting in a D/Pd ratio of 0.7. Pulses of current were passed through the cells to populate non-equilibrium states at the MIS barriers. One cell showed neutron activity and was found to have a large amount of tritium, other cells have produced tritium at a low rate consistent with neutron emission below the threshold of observability. The branching ratio for n/p has been about 1 {times} 10{sup {minus}9} in all the experiments where a substantial amount of tritium has been found. 11 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/DP
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
5281168
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-89-3946; CONF-8910313--1; ON: DE90003657
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English