Design Status of Heavy Ion Injector Program

Abstract

Design and development of a sixteen beam, heavy ion injector is in progress at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to demonstrate the injector technology for the High Temperature Experiment (HTE) proposed by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The injector design provides for individual ion sources mounted to a support plate defining the sixteen beam array. The beamlets are electrostatically accelerated through a series of electrodes inside an evacuated (10-7 torr) high voltage (HV) accelerating column. The column consists of two 28-inch diameter insulator modules made of 85 percent A1203 ceramic rings brazed to niobium feedthrough rings to which the electrodes are mechanically attached. Field shaping is used to minimize electron avalanche induced flashover along the inside surface of the ceramic rings. The column is self-supporting and is cantilevered from one end of the containment vessel. A brazed assembly was chosen to provide the required bond strength and high vacuum capability. The HV pulsed power supply is a 2MV Marx generator cantilevered from the opposite end of the containment vessel. The stainless steel pressure vessel (PV) contains a 65 psig mixture of SF6(30%) and nitrogen (70%) to provide the electrical insulation.