Compact D-D/D-T neutron generators and their applications

摘要

Neutron generators based on the sup 2 H(d,n) sup 3 He and sup 3 H(d,n) sup 4 He fusion reactions are the most commonly available neutron sources. The applications of current commercial neutron generators are often limited by their low neutron yield and their short operational lifetime. A new generation of D-D/D-T fusion-based neutron generators has been designed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) by using high current ion beams hitting on a self-loading target that has a large surface area to dissipate the heat load. This thesis describes the rationale behind the new designs and their potential applications. A survey of other neutron sources is presented to show their advantages and disadvantages compared to the fusion-based neutron generator. A prototype neutron facility was built at LBNL to test these neutron generators. High current ion beams were extracted from an RF-driven ion source to produce neutrons. With an average deuteron beam current of 24 mA and an energy of 100 keV, a neutron yield of >10 sup 9 n/s has been obtained with a D-D coaxial neutron source. Several potential applications were investigated by using computer simulations. The computer code used for simulations and the variance reduction techniques employed were discussed...