Direct Plasma Injection Scheme Research Articles

Extraction of ion beam from laser ion source for direct plasma injection scheme

Laser ion sources are expected to be used in various applications of heavy ion beam technology. The plasma direct injection scheme (DPIS) is a method in which ion beams extracted from a laser ion source are directly injected into a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linear accelerator. In this study, a new shape of the plasma electrode with a concave surface for the DPIS was proposed to inject a converging beam to a cavity of RFQ accelerator. This approach allows the use of a large-diameter extraction electrode, which is not limited by the aperture of the RFQ electrode rods. The DPIS, using the concave surface electrode, was employed to accelerate C6+ ion beams. The results indicated that both the beam current and the number of ions increased nearly twice with the proposed electrode shape compared to values obtained with the conventional electrode. This enhancement corresponded to the increased extraction area of the beam.

Demonstration of an intense lithium beam for forward-directed pulsed neutron generation

As an alternative to research nuclear reactors, a compact accelerator-driven neutron generator that uses a lithium beam driver could be a promising candidate since it produces almost no undesired radiation. However, providing an intense lithium-ion beam has been difficult, and it has been thought that the practical application of such a device would be impossible. The most critical problem of insufficient ion fluxes has been solved by applying a direct plasma injection scheme. In this scheme, a pulsed high-density plasma from a metallic lithium foil generated by laser ablation is efficiently injected and accelerated by a radio-frequency quadrupole linear accelerator (RFQ linac). We have obtained a peak beam current of 35 mA accelerated to 1.43 MeV, which is two orders of magnitude higher than a conventional injector and accelerator system can deliver.

Neutron generator based on intense lithium beam driver.

We are proposing a compact neutron generator based on a Li beam driver. The proposed neutron generator comprises a laser ion source, a radio-frequency quadrupole linear accelerator (RFQ linac), a drift tube linac, and a target containing protons. In the generator, the lithium ion is used as a projectile instead of protons to utilize the kinematic focusing technique. The technique enables us to enhance the neutron flux without increasing the beam energy, which is important to develop a clean compact neutron generator. Moreover, the combination of a laser ion source and a RFQ linac with the direct plasma injection scheme will provide several tens of mA of a fully ionized lithium beam, which is much higher than that of conventional heavy ion sources comparable with proton drivers. Neutrons are generated by the nuclear reaction of the lithium ions and protons in the beam target. In this paper, we reported the current status of the development. For RFQ, we designed the RFQ rods to accelerate 40 mA of 7Li3+. We fabricated and installed the rods into a cavity, and, as a first test, accelerated 10 mA of C6+ successfully.

Design of four-beam IH-RFQ linear accelerator

The multi-beam acceleration method is an acceleration technique for low-energy high-intensity heavy ion beams, which involves accelerating multiple beams to decrease space charge effects, and then integrating these beams by a beam funneling system. At the Tokyo Institute of Technology a two beam IH-RFQ linear accelerator was developed using a two beam laser ion source with direct plasma injection scheme. This system accelerated a carbon ion beam with a current of 108mA (54mA/channel×2) from 5 up to 60keV/u.In order to demonstrate that a four-beam IH-RFQ linear accelerator is suitable for high-intensity heavy ion beam acceleration, we have been developing a four-beam prototype. A four-beam IH-RFQ linear accelerator consists of sixteen RFQ electrodes (4×4 set) with stem electrodes installed alternately on the upper and lower ridge electrodes.As a part of this development, we have designed a four-beam IH-RFQ linear accelerator using three dimensional electromagnetic simulation software and beam tracking simulation software. From these simulation results, we have designed the stem electrodes, the center plate and the side shells by evaluating the RF properties such as the resonance frequency, the power loss and the electric strength distribution between the RFQ electrodes.

High power acceleration of an HSC type injector for cancer therapy**Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China and One Hundred Person Project of CAS

A hybrid single cavity (HSC) linac, which is formed by combining a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) and a drift tube (DT) structure into one interdigital-H (IH) cavity, is fabricated and assembled as a proof of principle injector for cancer therapy synchrotron, based on the culmination of several years of research. The HSC linac adopts a direct plasma injection scheme (DPIS), which can inject a high intensity heavy ion beam produced by a laser ion source (LIS). The input beam current of the HSC is designed to be 20 mA C6+ ions. According to numerical simulations, the HSC linac can accelerate a 6-mA C6+beam, which meets the requirement of the needed particle number for cancer therapy (108–9 ions/pulse). The HSC injector with the DPIS method makes the existing multi-turn injection system and stripping system unnecessary, and can also bring down the size of the beam pipe in existing synchrotron magnets, which could reduce the whole cost of synchrotron. The radio frequency (rf) measurements show excellent rf properties for the resonator, with a measured Q equal to 91% of the simulated value. A C6+ ion beam extracted from the LIS was used for the HSC commissioning. In beam testing, we found the measured beam parameters agreed with simulations. More details of the measurements and the results of the high power test are reported in this paper.

Iron plasma generation using a Nd:YAG laser pulse of several hundred picoseconds

We investigated the high intensity plasma generated by using a Nd:YAG laser to apply a laser-produced plasma to the direct plasma injection scheme. The capability of the source to generate high charge state ions strongly depends on the power density of the laser irradiation. Therefore, we focused on using a higher power laser with several hundred picoseconds of pulse width. The iron target was irradiated with the pulsed laser, and the ion current of the laser-produced iron plasma was measured using a Faraday cup and the charge state distribution was investigated using an electrostatic ion analyzer. We found that higher charge state iron ions (up to Fe(21+)) were obtained using a laser pulse of several hundred picoseconds in comparison to those obtained using a laser pulse of several nanoseconds (up to Fe(19+)). We also found that when the laser irradiation area was relatively large, the laser power was absorbed mainly by the contamination on the target surface.

High power test of an injector linac for heavy ion cancer therapy facilities

A hybrid single cavity (HSC) linac, combined with radio frequency quadrupole and drift tube structure in a single interdigital-H cavity, operates with high rf power as a prototype injector for cancer therapy synchrotron. The HSC adopts a direct plasma injection scheme (DPIS) with a laser ion source. The input beam current of the HSC is designed to be 20 mA ${\mathrm{C}}^{6+}$ ions. According to simulations, the HSC can accelerate a 6-mA ${\mathrm{C}}^{6+}$ beam which meets the requirement of the particle number for cancer therapy ($1{0}^{8\ensuremath{\sim}9}\text{ }\text{ions}/\text{pulse}$). The HSC injector with DPIS makes the existing multiturn injection system and stripping system unnecessary; what is more, it can also bring down the size of the beam pipe in existing synchrotron magnets, which can reduce the whole cost of the synchrotron. Details of the field measurements of the HSC linac and results of the high power test are reported in this paper.

Laser ion source activities at Brookhaven National Laboratory

In Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), we have been developing laser ion sources for diverse accelerators. Tabletop Nd:YAG lasers with up to several Joules of energy are mainly used to create ablation plasmas for stable operations. The obtained charge states depend on laser power density and target species. Two types of ion extraction schemes, direct plasma injection scheme (DPIS) and conventional static extraction, are used depending on the application. We optimized and selected a suitable laser irradiation condition and a beam extraction scheme to meet the requirement of the following accelerator system. We have demonstrated to accelerate more than 5 × 1010 of C6+ ions using the DPIS. We successfully commissioned a low-charge ion beam provider to the user facilities in BNL. To achieve higher current, higher charge state and lower emittance, further studies will continue.

Simulation study on matching of laser ion source to RFQ linac with direct plasma injection scheme

Simulation study on matching of laser ion source to RFQ linac with direct plasma injection scheme

Simulation of direct plasma injection for laser ion beam acceleration with a radio frequency quadrupole.

The direct plasma injection scheme (DPIS) has been being studied at Institute of Modern Physics since several years ago. A C(6+) beam with peak current of 13 mA, energy of 593 keV/u has been successfully achieved after acceleration with DPIS method. To understand the process of DPIS, some simulations have been done as follows. First, with the total current intensity and the relative yields of different charge states for carbon ions measured at the different distance from the target, the absolute current intensities and time-dependences for different charge states are scaled to the exit of the laser ion source in the DPIS. Then with these derived values as the input parameters, the extraction of carbon beam from the laser ion source to the radio frequency quadrupole with DPIS is simulated, which is well agreed with the experiment results.

Measurement of beam characteristics from C6+ laser ion source

We developed a C(6+) laser ion source for a heavy-ion accelerator. A carbon target was irradiated with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm wavelength, 1.4 J maximum laser energy, 10 ns pulse duration) to generate a high-density plasma. The laser ion source employed a rotating carbon target for continuous operation. Ion beams were extracted from the plasma through a drift space using a direct plasma injection scheme [B. Yu. Sharkov, A. V. Shumshurov, V. P. Dubenkow, O. B. Shamaev, and A. A. Golubev, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 63, 2841 (1992)] up to a maximum voltage of 40 kV. We measured the characteristics of the ion beams from the laser ion source and present the results of experiments here.

Iron beam acceleration using direct plasma injection scheme

A new set of vanes of radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator was commissioned using highly charged iron beam. To supply high intensity heavy ion beams to the RFQ, direct plasma injection scheme (DPIS) with a confinement solenoid was adopted. One of the difficulties to utilize the combination of DPIS and a solenoid field is a complexity of electro magnetic field at the beam extraction region, since biasing high static electric field for ion extraction, RFQ focusing field, and the solenoid magnetic field fill the same space simultaneously. To mitigate the complexity, a newly designed magnetic field clamps were used. The intense iron beam was observed with bunched structure and the total accelerated current reached 2.5 nC.

Development of high intensity linear accelerator for heavy ion inertial fusion driver

In order to verify the direct plasma injection scheme (DPIS), an acceleration test was carried out in 2001 using a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) heavy ion linear accelerator (linac) and a CO2-laser ion source (LIS) (Okamura et al., 2002) [1]. The accelerated carbon beam was observed successfully and the obtained current was 9.22mA for C4+. To confirm the capability of the DPIS, we succeeded in accelerating 60mA carbon ions with the DPIS in 2004 (Okamura et al., 2004; Kashiwagi and Hattori, 2004) [2,3]. We have studied a multi-beam type RFQ with an interdigital-H (IH) cavity that has a power-efficient structure in the low energy region. We designed and manufactured a two-beam type RFQ linac as a prototype for the multi-beam type linac; the beam acceleration test of carbon beams showed that it successfully accelerated from 5keV/u up to 60keV/u with an output current of 108mA (2×54mA/channel) (Ishibashi et al., 2011) [4]. We believe that the acceleration techniques of DPIS and the multi-beam type IH-RFQ linac are technical breakthroughs for heavy-ion inertial confinement fusion (HIF). The conceptual design of the RF linac with these techniques for HIF is studied. New accelerator-systems using these techniques for the HIF basic experiment are being designed to accelerate 400mA carbon ions using four-beam type IH-RFQ linacs with DPIS. A model with a four-beam acceleration cavity was designed and manufactured to establish the proof of principle (PoP) of the accelerator.

DPIS-RFQ系统的高频参数测试及功率锻炼

A direct plasma injection scheme (DPIS) project has been developed since 2007 at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMP, CAS). In this paper, the test methods and results of radio frequency (RF) characteristics are presented, and especially a new approach, which can calibrate a directional coupler by the RF instrument, is introduced to measure the pulsed power precisely. Furthermore, we present the conditioning situation of the whole radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) system including the analysis of and the solutions to the sparking of the cavity and amplifier. Finally, the result from the beam experiment proves that the design and measurement can meet the commissioning demand.

Design and simulation of C6+ hybrid single cavity linac for cancer therapy with direct plasma injection scheme

A hybrid single cavity (HSC) linac, whose structure is formed by combining a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) structure and a drift tube (DT) structure into one interdigital-H (IH) cavity, has been developed over a span of a few years by our research team [1]. In the present work, several different structures of an HSC linac are analyzed in order to achieve an optimum cavity electric field distribution and to enhance beam transmission. The proposed HSC linac design is a direct injector linac for a heavy ion synchrotron for radiotherapy. This design also has potential as a neutron source in boron neutron capture therapy. According to our simulations, an HSC linac accelerated C6+ ions from 25keV/u up to 2MeV/u in 1800mm for a 94kW feeding power with a 100MHz operation. The detailed HSC linac structure design and the results of the cavity electromagnetic field simulation are reported in this paper.

Status of the laser ion source at IMP

A laser (Nd:YAG laser, 3 J, 1064 nm, 8-10 ns) ion source has been built and under development at IMP to provide pulsed high-charge-state heavy ion beams to a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) for upgrading the IMP accelerators with a new low-energy beam injector. The laser ion source currently operates in a direct plasma injection scheme to inject the high charge state ions produced from a solid target into the RFQ. The maximum power density on the target was about 8.4 × 10(12) W∕cm(2). The preliminary experimental results will be presented and discussed in this paper.

Two-beam interdigital-H-type radio frequency quadrupole linac with direct plasma injection for high intensity heavy ion acceleration

We developed a two-beam interdigital-H-type radio frequency quadrupole (IH-RFQ) linac as a prototype of a multibeam IH-RFQ for high intensity heavy ion acceleration in the low energy region. This linac has two sets of RFQ electrodes within an IH-type resonant frequency cavity that is a power-efficient structure for low energy beam acceleration. The linac can accelerate two beams in parallel in one cavity with a reduction in the coulomb repulsive force (the space charge effect) between the accelerated heavy ion particles. The resonance frequency and the Q factor of the linac were found to be 47 MHz and 5900, respectively. We also developed a two-beam laser ion source with a direct plasma injection scheme as an injection system for the two-beam IH-RFQ linac and built a system to demonstrate the use of the two-beam IH-RFQ linac. Using this linac system, we were able to accelerate carbon ions from 5 to 60 keV/u and generate an output beam current of about 108 mA (2×54 mA/channel). A coherency between the two beams, derived from the imbalance of the beam loading, was observed in the acceleration test with carbon ions.

Direct plasma injection scheme with various ion beams

The laser ion source is one of the most powerful heavy ion sources. However, it is difficult to obtain good stability and to control its intense current. To overcome these difficulties, we proposed a new beam injection scheme called “direct plasma injection scheme”. Following this it was established to provide various species with desired charge state as an intense accelerated beam. Carbon, aluminum and iron beams have been tested.

Study on shunt impedance and voltage distribution of 4-rod RFQ cavity

A high current RFQ (radio frequency quadrupole) is being studied at the Institute of Modern Physics, CAS for the direct plasma injection scheme. Shunt impedance is an important parameter when designing a 4-rod RFQ cavity, it reflects the RF efficiency of the cavity, and has a direct influence on the cost of the structure. Voltage distribution of a RFQ cavity has an effect on beam transmission, and particles would be lost if the actual voltage distribution is not as what it should be. The influence of cell length, stem thickness and height on shunt impedance and voltage distribution have been studied, in particular the effect of projecting electrodes has been investigated in detail.

Particle simulation for direct plasma injection in a radio frequency quadrupole matching section

We have been investigating direct plasma injection scheme (DPIS) for high-intensity heavy-ion beam acceleration. In the DPIS, laser-produced plasma is directly injected into a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linac. To study the beam dynamics of the ion injection in the DPIS, we tracked particle motions in the RFQ matching section using three-dimensional particle-in-cell method. As a result of the numerical simulation, we found that the electrostatic field generated by the extraction electrode reduces the transmission efficiency. To avoid the radially defocusing force, the input beam into the RFQ has to be initially convergent. In the DPIS, further optimization of the plasma density is required for better matching.