A new structure of the Penning ion gauge (PIG) ion source used for neutron tube is designed, and the experiments on beam current extraction of the PIG negative hydrogen (H−) ion source are performed. The influences of the magnetic field of the ion source, different cathode materials and the aperture size of the extraction cathode on the negative hydrogen ion flow are studied. The neutron experiments are performed with a PIG negative hydrogen (H−PIG) ion source D–D neutron tube, and the experimental data demonstrate that this sort of negative hydrogen ion source can be used to produce neutron tubes with good performance.
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