Design and Characterization of a Neutralized-Transport Experiment for Heavy-Ion Fusion

Journal Article · Mon May 24 00:00:00 EDT 2004 · Physical Review Special Topics. Accelerators and Beams

OSTI ID:15014201

Henderson, E; Eylon, S; Roy, P; Yu, S S; Anders, A; Bieniosek, F M; Greenway, W G; Logan, B G; MacGill, R A; Shuman, D B; Vanecek, D L; Waldron, W L; Sharp, W M; Houck, T L; Davidson, R C; Efthimion, P C; Gilson, E P; Sefkow, A B; Welch, D R; Rose, D V ; Olson, C L

In heavy-ion inertial-confinement fusion systems, intense beams of ions must be transported from the exit of the final focus magnet system through the fusion chamber to hit millimeter-sized spots on the target. Effective plasma neutralization of intense ion beams in this final transport is essential for a heavy-ion fusion power plant to be economically competitive. The physics of neutralized drift has been studied extensively with particle-in-cell simulations. To provide quantitative comparisons of theoretical predictions with experiment, the Virtual National Laboratory for Heavy Ion Fusion has completed the construction and has begun experimentation with the Neutralized Transport Experiment (NTX). The experiment consists of three main sections, each with its own physics issues. The injector is designed to generate a very high-brightness, space-charge-dominated potassium beam while still allowing variable perveance by a beam aperturing technique. The magnetic-focusing section, consisting of four pulsed magnetic quadrupoles, permits the study of beam tuning, as well as the effects of phase space dilution due to higher-order nonlinear fields. In the final section, a converging ion beam exiting the magnetic section is transported through a drift region with plasma sources for beam neutralization, and the final spot size is measured under various conditions of neutralization. In this paper, we discuss the design and characterization of the three sections in detail and present the first results from the experiment.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 15014201
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JRNL-204346; TRN: US0802075
• Journal Information: Physical Review Special Topics. Accelerators and Beams, Vol. 7, Issue 083501; ISSN 1098-4402
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION
BEAM NEUTRALIZATION
DESIGN
HEAVY IONS
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
ION BEAMS
PHASE SPACE
POWER PLANTS
TRANSPORT
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS