Time-resolved characteristics of deuteron-beam generated by plasma focus discharge

PLoS One. 2018 Jan 8;13(1):e0188009. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188009. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The plasma focus device discussed herein is a Z-pinch pulsed-plasma arrangement. In this, the plasma is heated and compressed into a cylindrical column, producing a typical density of > 1025 particles/m3 and a temperature of (1-3) × 107 oC. The plasma focus has been widely investigated as a radiation source, including as ion-beams, electron-beams and as a source of x-ray and neutron production, providing considerable scope for use in a variety of technological situations. Thus said, the nature of the radiation emission depends on the dynamics of the plasma pinch. In this study of the characteristics of deuteron-beam emission, in terms of energy, fluence and angular distribution were analyzed. The 2.7 kJ plasma focus discharge has been made to operate at a pressure of less than 1 mbar rather than at its more conventional operating pressure of a few mbar. Faraday cup were used to determine deuteron-beam energy and deuteron-beam fluence per shot while CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors were employed in studying the angular distribution of deuteron emission. Beam energy and deuteron-beam fluence per shot have been found to be pressure dependent. The largest value of average deuteron energy measured for present conditions was found to be (52 ± 7) keV, while the deuteron-beam fluence per shot was of the order of 1015 ions/m2 when operated at a pressure of 0.2 mbar. The deuteron-beam emission is in the forward direction and is observed to be highly anisotropic.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Deuterium*
  • Equipment Design
  • Microscopy
  • Plasma Gases*
  • Time and Motion Studies

Substances

  • Plasma Gases
  • Deuterium

Grants and funding

The authors acknowledge the grant support from Ministry of Higher Education Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FP013-2014A) and University of Malaya PPP research grant (PG010-2015B).