Negative ion-driven associated particle neutron generator

Antolak, Arlyn J.; Leung, K. N.; Morse, D.H.; Donovan, David; Chames, Jeffrey M.; Whaley, Josh A.; Buchenauer, D.; Chen, A.X.; Hausladen, Paul; Liang, Feng

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2015.09.097

Cited by 18 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Negative ions play an important role in applications including particle acceleration [1][2][3][4][5], neutron generation [6,7], mass spectrometry [8][9][10][11], spacecraft propulsion [12][13][14], microprocessor manufacturing [15] and neutral beam heating for magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) [16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface production of negative ions from pulse-biased nitrogen doped diamond within a low-pressure deuterium plasma

Smith¹,

Tahri²,

Achard³

et al. 2021

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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The production of negative ions is of significant interest for applications including mass spectrometry, materials surface processing, and neutral beam injection for magnetic confined fusion. Neutral beam injection sources maximise negative ion production through the use of surface production processes and low work function metals, which introduce complex engineering. Investigating materials and techniques to avoid the use of low work function metals is of interest to broaden the application of negative ion sources and simplify future devices. In this study, we use pulsed sample biasing to investigate the surface production of negative ions from nitrogen doped diamond. The use of a pulsed bias allows for the study of insulating samples in a preserved surface state at temperatures between 150 ∘C and 700 ∘C in a 2 Pa, 130 W, (ne ∼ 109 cm−3, Te ∼ 0.6 eV) inductively coupled deuterium plasma. The negative ion yield during the application of a pulsed negative bias is measured using a mass spectrometer and found to be approximately 20% higher for nitrogen doped diamond compared to non-doped diamond. It is also shown that the pulsed sample bias has a lower peak negative ion yield compared to a continuous sample bias, which suggests that the formation of an optimum ratio of defects on its surface can be favourable for negative ion production.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface production of negative ions from pulse-biased nitrogen doped diamond within a low-pressure deuterium plasma

Smith¹,

Tahri²,

Achard³

et al. 2021

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The development of negative ion sources is of significant interest due to their applications in particle acceleration [1][2][3][4][5] , neutron generation 6,7 , mass spectrometry [8][9][10][11] , spacecraft propulsion [12][13][14] , nanoelectronics manufacturing 15 , and neutral beam heating for magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) [16][17][18][19] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing surface production of negative ions using nitrogen doped diamond in a deuterium plasma

Smith

Ellis

Moussaoui

et al. 2020

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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The production of negative ions is of significant interest for applications including mass spectrometry, particle acceleration, material surface processing, and neutral beam injection for magnetic confinement fusion. Methods to improve the efficiency of the surface production of negative ions, without the use of low work function metals, are of interest for mitigating the complex engineering challenges these materials introduce. In this study we investigate the production of negative ions by doping diamond with nitrogen. Negatively biased (−20 V or −130 V), nitrogen doped micro-crystalline diamond films are introduced to a low pressure deuterium plasma (helicon source operated in capacitive mode, 2 Pa, 26 W) and negative ion energy distribution functions (NIEDFs) are measured via mass spectrometry with respect to the surface temperature (30 • C to 750 • C) and dopant concentration. The results suggest that nitrogen doping has little influence on the yield when the sample is biased at −130 V, but when a relatively small bias voltage of −20 V is applied the yield is increased by a factor of 2 above that of un-doped diamond when its temperature reaches 550 • C. The doping of diamond with nitrogen is a new method for controlling the surface production of negative ions, which continues to be of significant interest for a wide variety of practical applications.

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“…Obviously, the target film plays an important role in the yield and life of the neutron tube. Traditional target film materials (titanium, lanthanum, yttrium, zirconium, scandium, and erbium) have made important contributions to increasing neutron yield [6][7][8][9]. However, pure titanium has defects as a neutron tube target film material.…”

Section: + = +mentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of target film material and coating on neutron yield and sputtering yield

Liu¹,

Lu²,

Xu³

et al. 2022

Mater. Res. Express

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The long-life, high yield deuterium-deuterium (D-D) neutron tube has become one of the research hotspots. Here, deuterated polyethylene target, heavy water target and titanium target were investigated by Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM). The calculation showed that the deuterated polyethylene target, which was a potential target material, had the highest yield at an incident energy of 120 keV. Further, considering the unfavorable factors such as impurity ions and high temperature, the coating was used to protect the target material. Diamond, boron carbide, boron nitride, silicon carbide, and aluminum carbide were selected. The simulation results showed that the diamond composite deuterated polyethylene film had the best sputtering resistance, and the aluminum nitride composite heavy water target film had the lowest sputtering yield. The two coating materials shield the target, reduced the energy loss of incident ions, and provided a new method for the research of high yield and long life neutron tube.

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Negative ion-driven associated particle neutron generator

Cited by 18 publications

References 10 publications

Surface production of negative ions from pulse-biased nitrogen doped diamond within a low-pressure deuterium plasma

Surface production of negative ions from pulse-biased nitrogen doped diamond within a low-pressure deuterium plasma

Enhancing surface production of negative ions using nitrogen doped diamond in a deuterium plasma

The influence of target film material and coating on neutron yield and sputtering yield

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