Hydrogen and Deuterium Ion Extraction From a Piezoelectric Transformer Plasma Source

Author

Baxter, Emily A. ; Kovaleski, Scott D. ; Gall, Brady B. ; VanGordon, James A. ; Norgard, Peter ; Dale, Gregory E.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

Volume

42

Issue

10

fYear

2014

fDate

Oct. 2014

Firstpage

3253

Lastpage

3257

Abstract

A piezoelectric transformer plasma source (PTPS) has been developed as a plasma ion source for D(d,n)³He neutron production. This neutron production system is compact, radioisotope free, and can be easily turned ON and OFF. The PTPS consists of a lithium niobate piezoelectric disk in a differentially pumped chamber with controlled gas flow from an external source. The PTPS was previously characterized using a range of gas flows, extraction voltages, and aperture geometries to demonstrate its capabilities as an ion source. Ion current measurements are presented for deuterium and hydrogen gas at PTPS pressures from 1.5 to 8.5 torr, RF driving voltages from 200 to 400 V, and extraction voltages up to 2000 V. Ion current yields on the order of 10 μA were measured.

Keywords

deuterium; hydrogen; ion sources; neutron sources; particle beam diagnostics; particle beam extraction; plasma sources; D; D(d,n)³He; H; PTPS; RF driving voltages; aperture geometries; controlled gas flow; deuterium ion extraction; differentially pumped chamber; external source; extraction voltages; hydrogen ion extraction; ion current measurements; ion current yields; lithium niobate piezoelectric disk; neutron production; piezoelectric transformer plasma source; plasma ion source; pressure 1.5 torr to 8.5 torr; voltage 2000 V; voltage 300 V to 400 V; Anodes; Current measurement; Deuterium; Neutrons; Radio frequency; Voltage measurement; Ion sources; piezoelectric materials; plasma generation;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TPS.2014.2345019

Filename

6874549