LBNL, Berkeley, California, USA
The Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX-I) generates high intensity ion beams to explore Warm Dense Matter physics. A ~150 kV, ~500 ns ramped voltage pulse is applied to a ~300 keV, 5-10 μs, 25 mA K+ ion beam across a single induction gap. The velocity modulated beam compresses longitudinally during ballistic transport along a space-charge-neutralizing plasma transport line, resulting in ~3A peak current with ~2-3 ns pulse durations (FWHM) at the target plane. Transverse final focusing is accomplished with a ~8 T, 10 cm long pulsed solenoid magnet. Time-dependent focusing in the induction gap, and chromatic aberrations in the final focus optics limit the peak fluence at the target plane for the compressed beam pulse. We report on time-dependent phase space measurements of the compressed pulse in the ballistic transport beamline, and measurement of the time-dependent radial impulses derived from the interaction of the beam and the induction gap voltage. We present results of start-to-end simulations to benchmark the experiments. Fast correction strategies are discussed with application to both NDCX-I and to the new NDCX-II accelerator.
LBNL, Berkeley, California, USA
High charge-state heavy-ion beams are of interest and used for a number of accelerator applications. Some accelerators produce the beams downstream of the ion source by stripping bound electrons from the ions as they pass through a foil or gas. In other accelerator systems, ions of charge state >1 are produced directly in the ion source. Heavy-ion inertial fusion (HIF) would benefit from low-emittance, high current ion beams with charge state >1. For these accelerators, the desired dimensionless perveance upon extraction from the emitter is ~0.001, and the electrical current of the beam pulse is ~ 1 A. For accelerator applications where high charge state and very high current are desired, space charge effects might present unique challenges. For example, in a stripper, the separation of charge states might create significant nonlinear space-charge forces which would impact the beam brightness. We will report on the particle-in-cell simulation of the formation of such beams for HIF, and review the possible technical approaches.
LBNL, Berkeley, California, USA
The NDCX-II accelerator has been designed for target heating experiments in the warm dense matter regime. It will use a large diameter (≈ 10.9 cm) Li+ doped alumino-silicate source with a pulse duration of 0.5 μs, and beam current of ≈ 93 mA. Characterization of a prototype lithium alumino-silicate sources is presented. Using 6.35 mm diameter prototype emitters (coated and sintered on a ≈ 75% porous tungsten substrate), at a temperature of ≈1275° C, a space-charge limited Li+ beam current density of ≈ 1 mA/cm2 was measured. At higher extraction voltage, the source is emission limited at around ≈ 1.5 mA/cm2, weakly dependent on the applied voltage. The lifetime of the ion source is ≈ 50 hours while pulsing the extraction voltage at 2 to 3 times per minute. Measurements under these conditions show that the lifetime of the ion source does not depend only on beam current extraction, and lithium loss may be dominated by neutral loss or by evaporation. The thickness of the coating does not affect the emission density. It is inferred that pulsed heating, synchronized with the beam pulse rate may increase the life time of a source.
LBNL, Berkeley, California, USA
LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
A 130 keV injector is developed for the NDCX-II facility. It consists of a 10.9 cm diameter lithium doped alumina-silicate ion source heated to ~1300 °C and 3 electrodes. Other components include a segmented Rogowski coil for current and beam position monitoring, a gate valve, pumping ports, a focusing solenoid, a steering coil and space for inspection and maintenance access. Significant design challenges including managing the 3-4 kW of power dissipation from the source heater, temperature uniformity across the emitter surface, quick access for frequent ion source replacement, mechanical alignment with tight tolerance, and structural stabilization of the cantilevered 27” OD graded HV ceramic column. The injector fabrication is scheduled to complete by May 2011, and assembly and installation is scheduled to complete by the beginning of July.
LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
LBNL, Berkeley, California, USA
PPPL, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
UMD, College Park, Maryland, USA
Intense heavy-ion beams have long been considered a promising driver option for inertial-fusion energy production. This paper briefly compares inertial confinement fusion (ICF) to the more-familiar magnetic- confinement approach and presents some advantages of using beams of heavy ions to drive ICF instead of lasers. Key design choices in heavy-ion fusion (HIF) facilities are discussed, particularly the type of accelerator. We then review experiments carried out at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) over the past thirty years to understand various aspects of HIF driver physics. A brief review follows of present HIF research in the US and abroad, focusing on a new facility, NDCX-II, being built at LBNL to study the physics of warm dense matter heated by ions, as well as aspects of HIF target physics. Future research directions are briefly summarized.