Sealed neutron tube provided with an ion source with electrostatic confinement

摘要

Sealed neutron tube containing a deuterium-tritium gas mixture under low pressure from which an ion source (13) furnishes an ion beam which crosses an acceleration electrode (17) in order to be projected with high energy onto a target (16) and produce thereat a fusion reaction causing an emission of neutrons. According to the invention, the ion source is a cold cathode with a purely electrostatic confinement of the ionising electrons ensured by the implementation of a positively polarised anode, of small collecting area in relation to the repelling area of the cathodic cavity inside which it is placed, the said cavity constituting the internal part of the cathode (15) in which the electrons (e2), which oscillate following trajectories of very great lengths in relation to the dimensions of the said cathodic cavity, ionise the gas and form an ionised gas from which the ion beam (22) is extracted for standard ion-optical devices (17). …??Application to neutron tubes. …IMAGE…