Publication Date:
2016-03-05
Description:
A novel configuration of a deuterium z-pinch has been used to generate a nanosecond pulse of fast ions and neutrons. At a 3 MA current, the peak neutron yield of (3.6 ± 0.5) × 10 12 was emitted within 20 ns implying the production rate of 10 20 neutrons/s. High neutron yields resulted from the magnetization of MeV deuterons inside plasmas. Whereas deuterons were trapped in the radial direction, a lot of fast ions escaped the z-pinch along the z-axis. A large number of 〉25 MeV ions were emitted into a 250 mrad cone. The cut-off energy of broad energy spectra of hydrogen ions approached 40 MeV. The total number of 〉1 MeV and 〉25 MeV deuterons were 10 16 and 10 13 , respectively. Utilizing these ions offers a real possibility of various applications, including the increase of neutron yields or the production of short-lived isotopes in samples placed in ion paths. On the basis of our experiments with various samples, we concluded that a single shot would have been sufficient to obtain GBq positron activity of 13 N isotopes via the 12 C(d,n) 13 N reaction. Furthermore, the first z-pinch generated neutron radiograph produced by ≈20 ns pulses is presented in this paper.
Print ISSN:
1070-664X
Electronic ISSN:
1089-7674
Topics:
Physics
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