Overview of ion diode research

Research into generation of intense proton beams has been conducted using Applied-B, Hybrid, and Pinch Reflex ion diodes. This work has been carried out in close collaboration with Cornell University and the Naval Research Laboratory. The goal of this work is to determine the ion diode configuration which maximizes the probability of achieving target ignition on PBFA II, which is to be operational at Sandia in 1986. A diode selection process has been established in order to narrow options and concentrate limited resources on a single diode type by mid-84, when the PBFA-II diode hardware design must be initiated. Diodes of all three types have been tested and compared on PBFA I and elsewhere, and scaling calculations have been carried out. Data have been obtained about diode efficiency, impedance behavior, microscopic and global divergence, ion transport and neutralization, and MITL-diode coupling, and novel diagnostic techniques have been developed. Results of diode comparisons and an overview of the diode research are presented, with detailed treatments being presented in accompanying papers.