Intense pulsed neutron emission from a compact pyroelectric driven accelerator

Abstract

Intense pulsed D–D neutron emission with rates of >1010 n/s during the pulse, pulse widths of approximately hundreds of nanoseconds and neutron yields of greater than 10 000 per pulse, are demonstrated in a compact pyroelectric accelerator. The accelerator consists of a small pyroelectric LiTaO3 crystal that provides the accelerating voltage and an independent compact spark plasma ion source. The crystal voltage versus temperature is characterized and compares well with theory. Results show neutron output per pulse that scales with voltage as V∼1.7. These neutron yields match a simple model of the system at low voltages but are lower than predicted at higher voltages due to charge losses not accounted for in the model. Interpretation of the data against modeling provides understanding of the accelerator and in general pyroelectric LiTaO3 crystals operated as charge limited negative high voltage targets. The findings overall serve as the proof of principle and basis for pyroelectric neutron generators that can be pulsed, giving peak neutron rates orders of magnitude greater than previous work and notably increase the potential applications of pyroelectric based neutron generators.