Long Plasma Source for Heavy Ion Beam Charge Neutralization
Plasmas are a source of unbound electrons for charge neutralizing intense heavy ion beams to focus them to a small spot size and compress their axial length. The plasma source should operate at low neutral pressures and without strong externally-applied fields. To produce long plasma columns, sources based upon ferroelectric ceramics with large dielectric coefficients have been developed. The source utilizes the ferroelectric ceramic BaTiO{sub 3} to form metal plasma. The drift tube inner surface of the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX) is covered with ceramic material. High voltage ({approx} 8 kV) is applied between the drift tube and the front surface of the ceramics. A BaTiO{sub 3} source comprised of five 20-cm-long sources has been tested and characterized, producing relatively uniform plasma in the 5 x 10{sup 10} cm{sup -3} density range. The source was integrated into the NDCX device for charge neutralization and beam compression experiments, and yielded current compression ratios {approx} 120. Present research is developing multi-meter-long and higher density sources to support beam compression experiments for high energy density physics applications.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Accelerator& Fusion Research Division
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 949209
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-1593E; TRN: US200910%%130
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physical Research A, Journal Name: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physical Research A
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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