Abstract
Deuterated polymer microspheres can be used as a neutron source in conjunction with lasers because thermonuclear fusion neutrons can be produced efficiently by collisions of the resulting energetic deuterium ions. A new type of solid deuterated polymer microsphere with a carbon hydrogen–carbon deuterium (CH-CD) multilayer has been designed for preparing the target for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. To fabricate these solid CH-CD multilayer microspheres, CH beads are first fabricated by a microfluidic technique, and the CD coating layer is prepared by a plasma polymerization method. Both polystyrene (PS) and poly(α-methylstyrene) (PAMS) are used as the material sources for the CH beads. The effects of the PS and PAMS materials on the quality of the solid CH beads and the resulting CH-CD multilayer polymer microspheres are investigated. The solid PS beads have better sphericity and a smoother surface, but large vacuoles are observed in solid PS-CD multilayer microspheres owing to the presence of residual fluorobenzene in the beads and a glass transition temperature of the solid PS beads that is lower than the temperature of plasma polymerization. Therefore, solid PAMS beads are more suitable as a mandrel for fabricating solid CH-CD multilayer polymer microspheres. Solid CH-CD multilayer microspheres with specified size have been successfully prepared by controlling the droplet size and the CD deposition rate and deposition time. Compared with the design value, the diameter deviation of the inner CH beads and the thickness deviation of the CD layer can be controlled within 20 µm and 2 µm, respectively. Thus, an approach has been developed to fabricate solid CH-CD multilayer microspheres that meet the physical design requirements for ICF.
Highlights
A variety of physical experiments, such as central hotspot ignition,1 fast ignition,2 shock ignition,3 and spherically convergent plasma fusion,4 have been performed to investigate inertial confinement fusion (ICF) in recent years
To fabricate these solid carbon hydrogen–carbon deuterium (CH-CD) multilayer microspheres, CH beads are first fabricated by a microfluidic technique, and the CD coating layer is prepared by a plasma polymerization method
The coefficients of variation (CV) of the diameter were less than 1.0%, indicating good monodispersity
Summary
A variety of physical experiments, such as central hotspot ignition, fast ignition, shock ignition, and spherically convergent plasma fusion, have been performed to investigate inertial confinement fusion (ICF) in recent years. Deuterated polymer microspheres are used as the target capsules in some experiments because thermonuclear fusion neutrons can be produced efficiently by the collisions of the resulting energetic deuterium ions.. Investigation of fabrication techniques for such deuterated polymer microspheres is of great importance. To fabricate deuterated polymer microspheres meeting the physical requirements for ICF experiments, deuterated polystyrene (DPS) has been synthesized by radical polymerization and purified to remove hydrophilic substances.. Millimeter-scale DPS shells have been used as targets in an experimental investigation of a laser-driven spherically convergent plasma fusion scheme, and thermonuclear neutrons have been produced stably and efficiently. To fabricate deuterated polymer microspheres meeting the physical requirements for ICF experiments, deuterated polystyrene (DPS) has been synthesized by radical polymerization and purified to remove hydrophilic substances. DPS shells and beads have been successfully prepared by a microfluidic technique, and their quality has been improved by optimization of density matching, interfacial tension, curing rate, and other factors. Millimeter-scale DPS shells have been used as targets in an experimental investigation of a laser-driven spherically convergent plasma fusion scheme, and thermonuclear neutrons have been produced stably and efficiently.
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