Carbon4+ plasma source

Summary form only given. A compact plasma source has been developed that requires very little energy, can be pulsed many times without maintenance, and is easily built with readily available parts. The individual sources are a few centimeters in dimension and use one joule energy. They provide a few tens of microcoulombs of plasma consisting of roughly 70% C⁴⁺, 20% C³⁺, and 10% H ⁺. The mean energy of the carbon ions is about 400 eV. These sources have been used in groups of up to 144 in experiments on PBFA-II (Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator II). A relationship has been obtained that determines the minimum vacuum needed to preserve the plasma fractions in a given situation