Search Results (12 total)

The pulse line ion accelerator (PLIA) is a promising approach to accelerating heavy ion beams to regimes of interest for the study of high energy density physics (HEDP) and warm dense matter in a cost effective way. In this paper we demonstrate a PLIA-based design for a proposed HEDP machine, the neutralized drift compression experiment II. The simulation results from the injector to the exit of the accelerator using the particle-in-cell code WARP are presented. We show how the traveling wave structure of PLIA suggests straightforward strategies in controlling the longitudinal and transverse dynamics of the ion beam.

Longitudinal bunching factors in excess of 70 of a 300-keV, 27-mA K⁺ ion beam have been demonstrated in the neutralized drift compression experiment [P. K. Roy , Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 234801 (2005)] in rough agreement with particle-in-cell source-to-target simulations. A key aspect of these experiments is that a preformed plasma provides charge neutralization of the ion beam in the last one meter drift region where the beam perveance becomes large. The simulations utilize the measured ion source temperature, diode voltage, and induction-bunching-module voltage waveforms in order to determine the initial beam longitudinal phase space which is critical to accurate modeling of the longitudinal compression. To enable simultaneous longitudinal and transverse compression, numerical simulations were used in the design of the solenoidal focusing system that compensated for the impact of the applied velocity tilt on the transverse phase space of the beam. Complete source-to-target simulations, that include detailed modeling of the diode, magnetic transport, induction bunching module, and plasma neutralized transport, were critical to understanding the interplay between the various accelerator components in the experiment. Here, we compare simulation results with the experiment and discuss the contributions to longitudinal and transverse emittance that limit the final compression.

An experiment to inject and match a 10  μs, singly charged K⁺ ion bunch at an ion energy of 0.3 MeV, current of 45 mA, and dimensionless perveance of 10^-3 into a solenoid lattice has been carried out at LBNL. The principal objective of this experiment is to match and transport the space-charge dominated ion beam and compare predicted and measured emittance. Initial investigation also presented the opportunity to study electron cloud effects and the effects of misalignments. A qualitative comparison of experimental and calculated results are presented, which include time resolved current density, transverse distributions, and phase space of the beam at different diagnostic planes.

In a first beam dynamics validation experiment for a new Pulse Line Ion Acceleration (PLIA) concept, the predicted energy amplification and beam bunching were experimentally observed. Beam energy modulation of -80 to +150  keV was measured using a PLIA input voltage waveform of -21 to +12  kV. Ion pulses accelerated by 150 keV, and bunching by a factor of 4 were simultaneously achieved. The measured longitudinal phase space and current waveform of the accelerated beam are in good agreement with 3D particle-in-cell simulations.

Heavy ion drivers for heavy ion fusion and high energy density physics applications use space-charge-dominated ion beams which must undergo longitudinal bunch compression in order to meet the requisite beam intensities desired at the target. The Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-1A (NDCX-1A) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is used to determine the effective limits of neutralized drift compression, which occurs due to an imposed longitudinal velocity tilt on the drifting beam and subsequent neutralization of the beam’s space charge with background plasma. The accurate and temporally resolved measurement of the ion beam’s current and pulse length, which has been longitudinally compressed to a few nanoseconds duration at its focal plane, is a critical diagnostic. This paper describes the design and experimental results for a fast and accurate ion beam probe, which reliably measures the absolute beam current in the presence of high density plasma at the focal plane as a function of time. A particle-in-cell code has been used to model the propagation of the intense ion beam and to design the diagnostic probe.

Longitudinal compression of a velocity-tailored, intense neutralized K⁺ beam at 300 keV, 25 mA has been demonstrated. The compression takes place in a 1–2 m drift section filled with plasma to provide space-charge neutralization. An induction cell produces a head-to-tail velocity ramp that longitudinally compresses the neutralized beam, enhancing the beam peak current by a factor of 50 and producing a pulse duration of about 3 ns. This measurement has been confirmed independently with two different diagnostic systems.

The neutralized transport experiment (NTX) at the Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory is exploring the performance of neutralized final-focus systems for high perveance heavy ion beams. The final-focus scenario in a heavy ion fusion driver consists of several large aperture quadrupole magnets followed by a drift section in which the beam space charge is neutralized by a plasma. This beam is required to hit a millimeter-sized target spot at the end of the drift section. The objective of the NTX experiments and associated theory and simulations is to study the various physical mechanisms that determine the final spot size (radius r_s) at a given distance (f) from the end of the last quadrupole. In a fusion driver, f is the standoff distance required to keep the chamber wall and superconducting magnets properly protected. The NTX final quadrupole focusing system produces a converging beam at the entrance to the neutralized drift section where it focuses to a small spot. The final spot is determined by the conditions of the beam entering the quadrupole section, the beam dynamics in the magnetic lattice, and the plasma neutralization dynamics in the drift section. The main issues are the control of emittance growth due to high order fields from magnetic multipoles and image fields. In this paper, we will describe the theoretical and experimental aspects of the beam dynamics in the quadrupole lattice, and how these physical effects influence the final beam size. In particular, we present theoretical and experimental results on the dependence of final spot size on geometric aberrations and perveance.

The High Current Experiment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is part of the U.S. program to explore heavy-ion beam transport at a scale representative of the low-energy end of an induction linac driver for fusion energy production. The primary mission of this experiment is to investigate aperture fill factors acceptable for the transport of space-charge-dominated heavy-ion beams at high intensity (line charge density ∼0.2  μC/m) over long pulse durations (4  μs) in alternating gradient focusing lattices of electrostatic or magnetic quadrupoles. This experiment is testing transport issues resulting from nonlinear space-charge effects and collective modes, beam centroid alignment and steering, envelope matching, image charges and focusing field nonlinearities, halo, and electron and gas cloud effects. We present the results for a coasting 1 MeV K⁺ ion beam transported through ten electrostatic quadrupoles. The measurements cover two different fill factor studies (60% and 80% of the clear aperture radius) for which the transverse phase space of the beam was characterized in detail, along with beam energy measurements and the first halo measurements. Electrostatic quadrupole transport at high beam fill factor (≈80%) is achieved with acceptable emittance growth and beam loss, even though the initial beam distribution is not ideal (but the emittance is low) nor in thermal equilibrium. We achieved good envelope control, and rematching may only be needed every ten lattice periods (at 80% fill factor) in a longer lattice of similar design. We also show that understanding and controlling the time dependence of the envelope parameters is critical to achieving high fill factors, notably because of the injector and matching section dynamics.

High current and low emittance are principal requirements for heavy-ion injection into a linac driver for inertial fusion energy. An electrostatic quadrupole injector is capable of providing these high charge density and low emittance beams. We have modified the existing 2-MV injector to reduce beam emittance and to double the pulse length. We characterize the beam delivered by the modified injector to the High Current Transport Experiment and the effects of finite rise time of the extraction voltage pulse in the diode on the beam head. We demonstrate techniques for mitigating aberrations and reducing beam emittance growth in the injector.

In heavy-ion inertial-confinement fusion systems, intense beams of ions must be transported from the exit of the final-focus magnet system through the fusion chamber to hit spots on the target with radii of about 2 mm. For the heavy-ion-fusion power-plant scenarios presently favored in the U.S., a substantial fraction of the ion-beam space charge must be neutralized during this final transport. The most effective neutralization technique found in numerical simulations is to pass each beam through a low-density plasma after the final focusing. To provide quantitative comparisons of these theoretical predictions with experiment, the Virtual National Laboratory for Heavy Ion Fusion has completed the construction and has begun experimentation with the neutralized-transport experiment. The experiment consists of three main sections, each with its own physics issues. The injector is designed to generate a very high-brightness, space-charge-dominated potassium beam, while still allowing variable perveance by a beam aperturing technique. The magnetic-focusing section, consisting of four pulsed quadrupoles, permits the study of magnet tuning, as well as the effects of phase-space dilution due to higher-order nonlinear fields. In the final section, the converging ion beam exiting the magnetic section is transported through a drift region with plasma sources for beam neutralization, and the final spot size is measured under various conditions of neutralization. In this paper, we discuss the design and characterization of the three sections in detail and present initial results from the experiment.

Transverse beam combining is a cost-saving option employed in many designs for heavy ion fusion drivers. However, the resultant transverse phase space dilution must be minimized so as not to sacrifice focusability at the target. A prototype combining experiment has been completed employing four 3-mA Cs⁺ beams injected at 160 keV. The focusing elements upstream of the merge consist of four quadrupoles and a final combined-function element (quadrupole and dipole). Following the merge, the resultant single beam is transported in a single alternating gradient channel where the subsequent evolution of the distribution function is diagnosed. The results are in fair agreement with particle-in-cell simulations. They indicate that for some heavy ion fusion driver designs, the phase space dilution from merging is acceptable.

A multibeamlet approach to a high current ion injector, whereby a large number of beamlets are accelerated and then merged to form a single beam, offers a number of potential advantages over a monolithic single beam injector. These advantages include a smaller transverse footprint, more control over the shaping and aiming of the beam, and more flexibility in the choice of ion sources. A potential drawback, however, is a larger emittance. In this paper, we seek to understand the merging of the beamlets and how it determines the emittance. When the constraints imposed by beam propagation physics and practical engineering issues are included, the design is reduced to a few free parameters. We describe the physics design of a multibeamlet injector and produce a design for an example set of parameters. Extensive use of 2D and 3D particle simulations was made in understanding the injector. Design tolerances and sensitivities are discussed in general and in relation to the example.