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.
Highlights
The plasma focus device is a coaxial plasma accelerator in which the electrical energy that is stored in the capacitor bank is rapidly converted into the formation of a hot plasma at the end of the coaxially arranged electrodes
The plasma focus action has been observed to be maximal at low operating pressures, at 0.2 mbar, the focus action occurring near to the peak of maximum discharge current, associated with greatest transfer of energy to the pinched plasma
Experimental studies of deuteron beam emission from a plasma focus operated at low pressure regime has been carried out with different diagnostic techniques including Faraday cup and CR-39 nuclear track detectors
Summary
The plasma focus device is a coaxial plasma accelerator in which the electrical energy that is stored in the capacitor bank is rapidly converted into the formation of a hot plasma at the end of the coaxially arranged electrodes. Most results pointed to the conclusion that the plasma focus is a low feasibility source for thermonuclear fusion research, with no great part seen in working towards an effective fusion energy solution. At high current operation of more than 10 MA theoretical work has reported the possibility of energy break-even [11]. As an alternative scheme for clean energy, encouraging results making use intense energetic ion-beam have been reported [12]
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