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Gaining in-situ access to relaxation dynamics of radiation induced defects will lead to a better understanding of materials and is important for the verification of theoretical models and simulations. We show preliminary results from experiments at the new Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX-II) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that will enable in-situ access to defect dynamics through pump-probe experiments. Here, the unique capabilities of the NDCX-II accelerator to generate intense, nanosecond pulsed ion beams are utilized. Preliminary data of channeling experiments using lithium and potassium ions and silicon membranes are shown. We compare these data to simulation results using Crystal Trim. Furthermore, we discuss the improvements to the accelerator to higher performance levels and the new diagnostics tools that are being incorporated., Comment: CAARI 2014

A barium titanate ferroelectric cylindrical plasma source has been developed, tested and delivered for the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment NDCX-II at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The plasma source design is based on the successful design of the NDCX-I plasma source. A 7 kV pulse applied across the 3.8 mm-thick ceramic cylinder wall produces a large polarization surface charge density that leads to breakdown and plasma formation. The plasma that fills the NDCX-II drift section upstream of the final-focusing solenoid has a plasma number density exceeding 10 10 cm −3 and an electron temperature of several eV. The operating principle of the ferroelectric plasma source are reviewed and a detailed description of the installation plans is presented. The criteria for plasma sources with larger number density will be given, and concepts will be presented for plasma sources for driver applications. Plasma sources for drivers will need to be highly reliable, and operate at several Hz for millions of shots.

A few percent wobbling-beam illumination nonuniformity is realized in heavy ion inertial confinement fusion (HIF) by a spiraling beam axis motion in the paper. The wobbling heavy ion beam (HIB) illumination was proposed to realize a uniform implosion in HIF. However, the initial imprint of the wobbling HIBs was a serious problem and introduces a large unacceptable energy deposition nonuniformity. In wobbling the HIBs illumination, the illumination nonuniformity oscillates in time and space. The oscillating-HIB energy deposition may contribute to the reduction of the HIBs' illumination nonuniformity and also the mitigation of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability. The wobbling HIBs can be generated in HIB accelerators and the oscillating frequency may be from several 100 MHz to 1 GHz. Three-dimensional HIBs illumination computations presented here show that the few percent wobbling HIBs illumination nonuniformity oscillates successfully with the same wobbling HIBs frequency.

The ion accelerator NDCX-II is undergoing commissioning at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Its principal mission is to explore ion-driven High Energy Density Physics (HEDP) relevant to Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) especially in the Warm Dense Matter (WDM) regime. We have carried out hydrodynamic simulations of beam-heated targets for parameters expected for the initial configuration of NDCX-II. For metal foils of order one micron thick (thin targets), the beam is predicted to heat the target in a timescale comparable to the hydrodynamic expansion time for experiments that infer material properties from measurements of the resulting rarefaction wave. We have also carried out hydrodynamic simulations of beam heating of metallic foam targets several tens of microns thick (thick targets) in which the ion range is shorter than the areal density of the material. In this case shock waves will form and we derive simple scaling laws for the efficiency of conversion of ion energy into kinetic energy of fluid flow. Geometries with a tamping layer may also be used to study the merging of a tamper shock with the end-of-range shock. This process can occur in tamped, direct drive IFE targets.

The neutralized drift compression experiment was designed and commissioned as a pulsed, linear induction accelerator to drive thin targets to warm dense matter (WDM) states with peak temperatures of ∼1 eV using intense, short pulses (∼1 ns) of 1.2 MeV lithium ions. At that kinetic energy, heating a thin target foil near the Bragg peak energy using He(+) ions leads to more uniform energy deposition of the target material than Li(+) ions. Experiments show that a higher current density of helium ions can be delivered from a plasma source compared to Li(+) ions from a hot plate type ion source. He(+) beam pulses as high as 200 mA at the peak and 4 μs long were measured from a multi-aperture 7-cm-diameter emission area. Within ±5% variation, the uniform beam area is approximately 6 cm across. The accelerated and compressed pulsed ion beams can be used for materials studies and isochoric heating of target materials for high energy density physics experiments and WDM studies.

This paper presents a new idea to produce matter in the high energy density physics (HEDP) regime in the laboratory using an intense ion beam. A gas bubble created inside a solid metal may collapse by driving it with an intense ion beam. The melted metal will compress the gas bubble and supply extra energy to it. Simulations show that the spherical implosion ratio can be about 5 and at the stagnation point, the maximum density, temperature and pressure inside the gas bubble can go up to nearly 2 times solid density, 10 eV and a few megabar (Mbar) respectively. The proposed experiment is the first to permit access into the Mbar regime with existing or near-term ion facilities, and opens up possibilities for new physics gained through careful comparisons of simulations with measurements of quantities like stagnation radius, peak temperature and peak pressure at the metal wall.

One dimensional simulations of various initial average density aluminum foams (modeled as slabs of solid metal separated by low density regions) heated by volumetric energy deposition are conducted with a Lagrangian hydrodynamics code using a van der Waals equation of state (EOS). The resulting behavior is studied to facilitate the design of future warm dense matter (WDM) experiments at LBNL. In the simulations the energy deposition ranges from 10 to 30 kJ/g and from 0.075 to 4.0 ns total pulse length, resulting in temperatures from approximately 1 to 4 eV. We study peak pressures and temperatures in the foams, expansion velocity, and the phase evolution. Five relevant time scales in the problem are identified. Additionally, we present a method for characterizing the level of inhomogeneity in a foam target as it is heated and the time it takes for a foam to homogenize.

In experiments of Single-bubble Sonoluminescence (SBSL), the bubble is heated to temperatures of a few eV in the collapse phase of the oscillation. Our hydrodynamic simulations show that the density inside the bubble can go up to the order of 1 g/cm3, and the electron density due to ionization is 1021/cm3. So the plasma coupling constant is found to be around 1 and the gas inside the bubble is in the Warm Dense Matter (WDM) regime. We simulate the light emission of SL with an optical model for thermal radiation which takes the finite opacity of the bubble into consideration. The numerical results obtained are compared with the experimental data and found to be very sensitive to the equation of state (EOS) used. As theories for the equation of state, as well as the opacity data, in the WDM regime are still very uncertain, we propose that SL may be a good low-cost experimental check for the EOS and the opacity data for matter in the WDM regime.

Hydrodynamic simulations have been carried out using the multi-physics radiation hydrodynamics code HYDRA and the simplified one-dimensional hydrodynamics code DISH. We simulate possible targets for a near-term experiment at LBNL (the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment, NDCX) and possible later experiments on a proposed facility (NDCX-II) for studies of warm dense matter and inertial fusion energy-related beam-target coupling. Simulations of various target materials (including solids and foams) are presented. Experimental configurations include single-pulse planar metallic solid and foam foils. Concepts for double-pulsed and ramped-energy pulses on cryogenic targets and foams have been simulated for exploring direct drive beam-target coupling, and concepts and simulations for collapsing cylindrical and spherical bubbles to enhance temperature and pressure for warm dense matter studies.

The Heavy-Ion Fusion Sciences Virtual National Laboratory is pursuing an approach to target heating experiments in the warm-dense matter regime, using space-charge-dominated ion beams that are simultaneously longitudinally bunched and transversely focused. Longitudinal beam compression by large factors has been demonstrated in the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX) with controlled ramps and forced neutralization. Using an injected 30-mA K+ ion beam with initial kinetic energy 0.3 MeV, axial compression leading to ∼50-fold current amplification and simultaneous radial focusing to beam radii of a few mm have led to encouraging energy deposition approaching the intensities required for eV-range target heating experiments. We discuss the status of several improvements to our Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment and associated beam diagnostics that are under development to reach the necessary higher beam intensities, including (1) greater axial compression via a longer velocity ramp using a new bunching module with approximately twice the available volt seconds (Vs); (2) improved centroid control via beam steering dipoles to mitigate aberrations in the bunching module; (3) time-dependent focusing elements to correct considerable chromatic aberrations; and (4) plasma injection improvements to establish a plasma density always greater than the beam density, expected to be >1013 cm−3.

In this paper we discuss physical and technical issues of high-energy-density physics (HEDP) experiments with intense heavy ion beams that are being performed at the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Darmstadt. Special attention is given to a comparison of some recent results on expansion dynamics of evaporating lead that have been obtained in heavy ion beam driven HIHEX (Heavy-Ion Heating and Expansion) experiments at GSI-Darmstadt and in high-explosive driven shock wave loading and release experiments at IPCP-Chernogolovka.

The Heavy Ion Fusion Science Virtual National Laboratory (HIFS-VNL), a collaboration of LBNL, LLNL, and PPPL, has achieved 60-fold pulse compression of ion beams on the Neutralized Drift Compression eXperiment (NDCX) at LBNL. In NDCX, a ramped voltage pulse from an induction cell imparts a velocity “tilt” to the beam; the beam's tail then catches up with its head in a plasma environment that provides neutralization. The HIFS-VNL's mission is to carry out studies of warm dense matter (WDM) physics using ion beams as the energy source; an emerging thrust is basic target physics for heavy ion-driven inertial fusion energy (IFE). These goals require an improved platform, labeled NDCX-II. Development of NDCX-II at modest cost was recently enabled by the availability of induction cells and associated hardware from the decommissioned advanced test accelerator (ATA) facility at LLNL. Our initial physics design concept accelerates a ∼ 30 nC pulse of Li + ions to ∼ 3 MeV , then compresses it to ∼ 1 ns while focusing it onto a mm-scale spot. It uses the ATA cells themselves (with waveforms shaped by passive circuits) to impart the final velocity tilt; smart pulsers provide small corrections. The ATA accelerated electrons; acceleration of non-relativistic ions involves more complex beam dynamics both transversely and longitudinally. We are using an interactive one-dimensional kinetic simulation model and multidimensional Warp-code simulations to develop the NDCX-II accelerator section. Both LSP and Warp codes are being applied to the beam dynamics in the neutralized drift and final focus regions, and the plasma injection process. The status of this effort is described.

Over the past two years noteworthy experimental and theoretical progress has been made towards the top-level scientific question for the US programme on heavy-ion-fusion-science and high energy density physics: ‘How can heavy-ion beams be compressed to the high intensity required to create high energy density matter and fusion conditions?’ New results in transverse and longitudinal beam compression, high-brightness transport and beam acceleration will be reported. Central to this campaign is final beam compression. With a neutralizing plasma, we demonstrated transverse beam compression by an areal factor of over 100 and longitudinal compression by a factor of >50. We also report on the first demonstration of simultaneous transverse and longitudinal beam compression in plasma. High beam brightness is key to high intensity on target, and detailed experimental and theoretical studies on the effect of secondary electrons on beam brightness degradation are reported. A new accelerator concept for nearterm low-cost target heating experiments was invented, and the predicted beam dynamics validated experimentally. We show how these scientific campaigns have created new opportunities for interesting target experiments in the warm dense matter regime. Finally, we summarize progress towards heavy-ion fusion, including the demonstration of a compact driver-size high-brightness ion injector. For all components of our high intensity campaign, the new results have been obtained via tightly coupled efforts in experiments, simulations and theory.

We present simulations and analysis of the heating of warm dense matter foils by ion beams with ion energy less than one MeV per nucleon to target temperatures of order one eV. Simulations were carried out using the multi-physics radiation hydrodynamics code HYDRA and comparisons are made with analysis and the code DPC. We simulate possible targets for a proposed experiment at LBNL (the so-called Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment, NDCXII) for studies of warm dense matter. We compare the dynamics of ideally heated targets, under several assumed equation of states, exploring dynamics in the two-phase (fluid-vapor) regime.

A Retarding Field Analyzer (RFA) was inserted in a drift region of the magnetic transport section of the High-Current Experiment (HCX), that is at high-vacuum, to measure ions and electrons resulting from beam interaction with background gas and walls. The ions are expelled during the beam pulse by the space–charge potential and the electrons are expelled mainly at the end of the beam, when the beam potential decays. The ion energy distribution shows the beam potential of ∼ 2100 V and the beam–background gas total cross-section of 3.1 × 10 - 19 m 2 . The electron energy distribution reveals that the expelled electrons are mainly desorbed from the walls and gain ∼ 22 eV from the beam potential decaying with time before entering the RFA. Details of the RFA design and of the measured energy distributions are presented and discussed.

We describe near-term ion beam-driven warm dense matter (WDM) experiments. Initial experiments are at low beam velocity, below the Bragg peak, increasing toward the Bragg peak in subsequent versions of the accelerator. The WDM conditions are envisioned to be achieved by combined longitudinal and transverse neutralized drift compression to provide a hot spot on the target with a beam spot size of about 1 mm and pulse length about 1–2 ns. The range of the beams in solid matter targets is about 1 μm, which can be lengthened by using porous targets at reduced density. Initial candidate experiments include an experiment to study transient darkening in the WDM regime; and a thin target dE/dx experiment to study beam energy and charge state distribution in a heated target. Further experiments will explore target temperature and other properties such as electrical conductivity to investigate phase transitions and the critical point. Initial diagnostics will be relatively simple or extensions of existing capabilities. These include electrical resistivity and optical absorption measurements to provide information on target temperature and electronic phase transitions. Beam energy and charge state after passing through thin targets can be measured using time of flight and the existing electrostatic energy analyzer. Ion beam current and profile diagnostics will be improved to diagnose the small spot sizes to be achieved in these experiments. Other diagnostics of interest may monitor optical emission (e.g. fast optical pyrometer, streak cameras), and utilize laser reflectometry, polarimetry, or shadowgraphy.

During the past two years, significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the US heavy ion fusion science program in longitudinal beam compression, ion-beam-driven warm dense matter, beam acceleration, high brightness beam transport, and advanced theory and numerical simulations. Innovations in longitudinal compression of intense ion beams by >50X propagating through background plasma enable initial beam target experiments in warm dense matter to begin within the next two years. We are assessing how these new techniques might apply to heavy ion fusion drivers for inertial fusion energy.

To create high-energy density matter and fusion conditions, high-power drivers, such as lasers, ion beams, and X-ray drivers, may be employed to heat targets with short pulses compared to hydro-motion. Both high-energy density physics and ion-driven inertial fusion require the simultaneous transverse and longitudinal compression of an ion beam to achieve high intensities. We have previously studied the effects of plasma neutralization for transverse beam compression. The scaled experiment, the Neutralized Transport Experiment (NTX), demonstrated that an initially un-neutralized beam can be compressed transversely to � 1 mm radius when charge neutralization by background plasma electrons is provided. Here, we report longitudinal compression of a velocity-tailored, intense, neutralized 25 mA K + beam at 300 keV. 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, enhances the beam peak current by a factor of 50 and produces a pulse duration of about 3 ns. The physics of longitudinal compression, experimental procedure, and the results of the compression experiments are presented. r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Key scientific results from recent experiments, modeling tools, and heavy ion accelerator research are summarized that explore ways to investigate the properties of high energy density matter in heavy-ion-driven targets, in particular, strongly-coupled plasmas at 0.01 to 0.1 times solid density for studies of warm dense matter, which is a frontier area in high energy density physics. Pursuit of these near-term objectives has resulted in many innovations that will ultimately benefit heavy ion inertial fusion energy. These include: neutralized ion beam compression and focusing, which hold the promise of greatly improving the stage between the accelerator and the target chamber in a fusion power plant; and the Pulse Line Ion Accelerator (PLIA), which may lead to compact, low-cost modular linac drivers.

The need to reach high temperatures in an inertial fusion energy (IFE) target (or a target for the study of High Energy Density Physics, HEDP) requires the ability to focus ion beams down to a small spot. System models indicate that within the accelerator, the beam radius will be of the order of centimeters, whereas at the final focal spot on the target, a beam radius of the order of millimeters is required, so radial compression factors of order ten are required. The IFE target gain (and hence the overall cost of electricity) and the HEDP target temperature are sensitive functions of the final spot radius on target. Because of this sensitivity, careful attention needs to be paid to the spot radius calculation. We review our current understanding of the elements that enter into a systems model (such as emittance growth from chromatic, geometric, and non-linear space charge forces) for the final focus based on a quadrupolar magnet system.

Lengthwise compression of space-charge-dominated beams is needed to obtain the high input power required for heavy-ion fusion. The “drift compression” scenario studied here first applies a head-to-tail velocity variation with the beam tail moving faster than the head. As the beam drifts, the longitudinal space-charge field slows compression, leaving the beam nearly monoenergetic as it enters the final-focus magnets. This paper presents initial work to model this compression scenario. Fluid and particle simulations are compared, and several strategies for setting up the compression schedule are discussed.

Significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the US heavy-ion fusion program on high-current sources, injectors, transport, final focusing, chambers and targets for high-energy density physics (HEDP) and inertial fusion energy (IFE) driven by induction linac accelerators. One focus of present research is the beam physics associated with quadrupole focusing of intense, space–charge dominated heavy-ion beams, including gas and electron cloud effects at high currents, and the study of long-distance-propagation effects such as emittance growth due to field errors in scaled experiments. A second area of emphasis in present research is the introduction of background plasma to neutralize the space charge of intense heavy-ion beams and assist in focusing the beams to a small spot size. In the near future, research will continue in the above areas, and a new area of emphasis will be to explore the physics of neutralized beam compression and focusing to high intensities required to heat targets to high-energy density conditions as well as for inertial fusion energy.

The Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory (HIF–VNL), a collaboration among LBNL, LLNL, and PPPL, is presently focused on separate smaller-scale scientific experiments addressing key issues of future Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) and High-Energy-Density-Physics (HEDP) drivers: the injection, transport, and focusing of intense heavy ion beams at currents from 25 to 600 mA. As a next major step in the HIF–VNL program, we aim for a fully integrated beam physics experiment, which allows integrated source-to-target physics research with a high-current heavy ion beam of IFE-relevant brightness with the goal of optimizing target focusing. This paper describes two rather different options for such an integrated experiment, the Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX) and the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX). Both proposals put emphasis on the unique capability for integrated injection, acceleration, compression, and focusing of a high-current, space-charge-dominated heavy ion beam.

In this paper we report on two Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) driver point design studies. The Robust Point Design (RPD) was completed over a year ago, and the Modular Point Design (MPD) is still in progress. The goal of any point design study is to construct a detailed design that is self-consistent and integrated from injector to target. This has been the primary theme of both studies.

We report on an ongoing study on modular Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) drivers. The modular driver is characterized by {approx}20 nearly identical induction linacs, each carrying a single high current beam. In this scheme, one of the full size induction linacs can be tested as an 'integrated Research Experiment' (IRE). Hence this approach offers significant advantages in terms of driver development path. For beam transport, these modules use solenoids, which are capable of carrying high line charge densities, even at low energies. A new injector concept allows compression of the beam to high line densities right after the source. The final drift compression is performed in a plasma in which the large repulsive space charge effects are neutralized. Finally, the beam is transversely compressed onto the target, using either external solenoids or current-carrying channels (in the assisted pinch mode of beam propagation). We report on progress towards a self-consistent point design from injector to target. Considerations of driver architecture, chamber environment as well as the methodology for meeting target requirements of spot size, pulse shape and symmetry are also described. Finally, some near-term experiments to address the key scientific issues are discussed.

Significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the U.S. heavy ion fusion program on high-current sources, injectors, transport, final focusing, chambers and targets for high energy density physics (HEDP) and inertial fusion energy (IFE) driven by induction linac accelerators. One focus of present research is the beam physics associated with quadrupole focusing of intense, space-charge dominated heavy-ion beams, including gas and electron cloud effects at high currents, and the study of long-distance-propagation effects such as emittance growth due to field errors in scaled experiments. A second area of emphasis in present research is the introduction of background plasma to neutralize the space charge of intense heavy ion beams and assist in focusing the beams to a small spot size. In the near future, research will continue in the above areas, and a new area of emphasis will be to explore the physics of neutralized beam compression and focusing to high intensities required to heat targets to high energy density conditions as well as for inertial fusion energy.

We describe the next set of experiments proposed in the U.S. Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory, the so-called Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX). The purpose of IBX is to investigate in an integrated manner the processes and manipulations necessary for a heavy ion fusion induction accelerator. The IBX experiment will demonstrate injection, acceleration, compression, bending, and final focus of a heavy ion beam at significant line charge density. Preliminary conceptual designs are presented and issues and trade-offs are discussed. Plans are also described for the step after IBX, the Integrated Research Experiment (IRE), which will carry out significant target experiments.

Over the next three years the research program of the Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory (HIF-VNL), a collaboration among LBNL, LLNL, and PPPL, is focused on separate scientific experiments in the injection, transport and focusing of intense heavy ion beams at currents from 100 mA to 1A. As a next major step in the HIF-VNL program, we aim for a complete source-to-target experiment, the Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX). By combining the experience gained in the current separate beam experiments IBX would allow the integrated scientific study of the evolution ofa single heavy ion beam at high current (∼1 A) through all sections of a possible heavy ion fusion accelerator: the injection, acceleration, compression, and beam focusing. This paper describes the main parameters and technology choices of the planned IBX experiment. IBX will accelerate singly charged potassium or argon ion beams up to 10 MeV final energy and a longitudinal beam compression ratio off 10, resulting in a beam current at target ofmore than 10 Amperes. Different accelerator cell design options are described in detail; Induction cores incorporating either room temperature pulsed focusing-magnets or superconducting magnets.

The U.S. Heavy Ion Fusion program has recently commissioned several new experiments. In the High Current Experiment [P. A. Seidl et al., Laser Part. Beams 20, 435 (2003)], a single low-energy beam with driver-scale charge-per-unit-length and space-charge potential is being used to study the limits to transportable current posed by nonlinear fields and secondary atoms, ions, and electrons. The Neutralized Transport Experiment similarly employs a low-energy beam with driver-scale perveance to study final focus of high perveance beams and neutralization for transport in the target chamber. Other scaled experiments—the University of Maryland Electron Ring [P. G. O’Shea et al., accepted for publication in Laser Part. Beams] and the Paul Trap Simulator Experiment [R. C. Davidson, H. Qin, and G. Shvets, Phys. Plasmas 7, 1020 (2000)]—will provide fundamental physics results on processes with longer scale lengths. An experiment to test a new injector concept is also in the design stage. This paper will describe th...

This article presents analytical and simulation studies of intense heavy ion beam propagation, including the injection, acceleration, transport and compression phases, and beam transport and focusing in background plasma in the target chamber. Analytical theory and simulations that support the High Current Experiment (HCX), the Neutralized Transport Experiment (NTX), and the advanced injector development program, are being used to provide a basic understanding of the nonlinear beam dynamics and collective processes, and to develop design concepts for the next-step Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX), an Integrated Research Experiment (IRE), and a heavy ion fusion driver. Three-dimensional nonlinear perturbative simulations have been applied to collective instabilities driven by beam temperature anisotropy, and to two-stream interactions between the beam ions and any unwanted background electrons; three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the 2-MV electrostatic quadrupole (ESQ) injector have clarified the influence of pulse rise time; analytical studies and simulations of the drift compression process have been carried out; syntheses of a four-dimensional particle distribution function from phase-space projections have been developed; and studies of the generation and trapping of stray electrons in the beam self-fields have been performed. Particle-in-cell simulations, involving preformed plasma, are being used to study the influence of charge and current neutralization on the focusing of the ion beam in NTX and in a fusion chamber.

The Heavy Ion Fusion Group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has for several years been developing the world's first circular ion induction accelerator designed for space-charge-dominated beams. Experiments on one quarter of the ring have been completed. The accelerator extended 10 half-lattice periods (HLP) with induction cores for acceleration placed on every other HLP. A network of Capacitive Beam Probes (C-probes) was also enabled for beam position monitoring throughout the bend section. These C-probes have been instrumental in steering experiments, implementation of the acceleration stages and the dipole pulser, and the first attempts at coordinated bending and acceleration. Data from these experiments and emittance measurements will be presented.

We demonstrate that ion-beam elliptical focal spots can be rotated with skew quadrupoles, by arbitrary angles, to map appropriately onto annular rings at either end of distributed-radiator heavy-ion fusion targets. The rotation is accompanied by an increase in the area, a variation in the ellipticity, and a shift in the axial location of the beam focal spot, all of which are small enough that they may be acceptable. Possible further optimizations are discussed.

We describe the goals and research program leading to the Heavy Ion Integrated Research Experiment (IRE). We review the basic constraints which lead to a design and give examples of parameters and capabilities of an IRE. We also show design tradeoffs generated by the systems code IBEAM.

A heavy ion linear induction accelerator is considered to be the leading driver candidate for an Inertial Fusion Energy reactor. To deliver a space-charge-dominated beam at the appropriate energy (several GeV), such an accelerator would be several kilometers in length. Since total length has a strong influence on accelerator cost, we are considering the potential advantages and practical implementation of a recirculating induction accelerator. To address the critical scientific and technical challenges of a recirculating space-charge-dominated heavy ion beam, we have begun to develop the elements of a scaled ``small recirculator``. An operating recirculator must demonstrate full beam control including multi-lap operation, beam insertion/extraction, acceleration and pulse compression. At present, experiments have been conducted using a 2mA, 80keV K{sup +} beam transported through a 45{degree} bend; experiments on a 90{degree} bend with five induction modulators will begin soon. This paper briefly summarizes the recirculator specifications and operational features and reports the latest experimental data as well as the developmental status of beam diagnostics.

We present intense-beam simulations with the WARP code that are being carried out in support of the Heavy-Ion Fusion experimental programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The WARP code is an electrostatic particle-in-cell code with an extensive hierarchy of simulation capabilities. Two experiments are analyzed. First, simulations are presented on an 80 keV, 2 mA K‘ bent transport channel at LLNL that employs an alternating-gradient lattice of magnetic quadrupoles for beam focusing and electric dipoles for beam bending. Issues on dispersion-induced changes in beam quality on the transition from straight- to bent-lattice sections are explored. The second experiment analyzed is a 2 MeV, 800 mA, driver-scale injector and matching section at LBNL that is based on a K‘ source and an alternating-gradient lattice of electrostatic quadrupoles biased to accelerate, focus, and match the beam. Issues on beam quality, space-charge waves, and beam hollowing are explored. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

The approach to heavy-ion-driven inertial fusion studied most extensively in the US uses induction modulators and cores to accelerate and confine the beam longitudinally. The intrinsic peak-current capabilities of induction machines, together with their flexible pulse formats, provide a suitable match to the high peak-power requirement of a heavy-ion fusion target. However, as in the RF case, where combinations of linacs, synchrotrons, and storage rings offer a number of choices to be examined in designing an optimal system, the induction approach also allows a number of architectures, from which choices must be made. We review the main classes of architecture for induction drivers that have been studied to date. The main choice of accelerator structure is that between the linac and the recirculator, the latter being composed of several rings. Hybrid designs are also possible. Other design questions include which focusing system (electric quadrupole, magnetic quadrupole, or solenoid) to use, whether or not to merge beams, and what number of beams to use – all of which must be answered as a function of ion energy throughout the machine. Also, the optimal charge state and mass must be chosen. These different architectures and beam parameters lead to different emittances and imply different constraints on the final focus. The advantages and uncertainties of these various architectures will be discussed.

The US is developing the physics and technology of induction accelerators for heavy-ion beam-driven inertial fusion. The recirculating induction accelerator repeatedly passes beams through the same set of accelerating and focusing elements, thereby reducing both the length and gradient of the accelerator structure. This promises an attractive driver cost, if the technical challenges associated with recirculation can be met. Point designs for recirculator drivers were developed in a multi-year study by LLNL, LBNL, and FM Technologies, and that work is briefly reviewed here. To validate major elements of the recirculator concept, we are developing a small (4-5-m diameter) prototype recirculator which will accelerate a space-charge-dominated beam of K{sup +} ions through 15 laps, from 80 to 320 keV and from 2 to 8 mA. Transverse beam confinement is effected via permanent-magnet quadrupoles; bending is via electric dipoles. This ``Small Recirculator`` is being developed in a build-and-test sequence of experiments. An injector, matching section, and linear magnetic channel using seven half-lattice periods of permanent-magnet quadrupole lenses are operational. A prototype recirculator half-lattice period is being fabricated. This paper outlines the research program, and presents initial experimental results.

The capabilities of adiabatic, current-carrying plasma lenses for the final focus problem in heavy-ion-beam-driven inertial confinement fusion are explored and compared with the performance of non-adiabatic plasma lenses, and with that of conventional quadrupole lenses. A final focus system for a fusion reactor is proposed, consisting of a conventional quadrupole lens to prefocus the driver beams to the entrance aperture of the adiabatic lens, the plasma lens itself, and a high current discharge channel inside the chamber to transport the focused beam to the fusion pellet. Two experiments are described that address the issues of adiabatic focusing, and of transport channel generation and stability for ion beam transport. The test of the adiabatic focusing principle shows a 26-fold current density increase of a 1.5 MeV potassium ion beam during operation of the lens. The lens consist of a discharge of length 300 mm, filled with helium gas at a pressure of 1 Torr and is pulsed with a current between 5 and 15 kA. The investigations of discharge channels for ion beam transport show that preionization of the discharge channels with a UV laser can be an efficient way to direct and stabilize the discharge.

The goal of the Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) Program is to apply high-current accelerator technology to IFE power production. Ion beams of mass {approx}100 amu and kinetic energy {>=} 1 GeV provide efficient energy coupling into matter, and HIF enjoys RD see 'Heavy Ion Accelerator Drivers.'; (2) the targets, which span a continuum from full direct to full indirect drive (and perhaps fast ignition), and have metal exteriors that enable injection at {approx}10 Hz; see 'IFE Target Designs'; (3) the near-classical ion energy deposition in the targets; see 'Beam-Plasma Interactions'; (4) the magnetic final lens, robust against damage; see 'Final Optics-Heavy Ion Beams'; and (5) the fusion chamber, which may use neutronically-thick liquids; see 'Liquid-Wall Chambers.' Most studies of HIF power plants have assumed indirect drive and thick liquid wall protection, but other options are possible.

We propose a simple, self-consistent kinetic model for the evolution of a mixture of droplets and vapor expanding adiabatically in vacuum after rapid, almost isochoric heating. We study the evolution of the two-phase fluid at intermediate times between the molecular and the hydrodynamic scales, focusing on out-of-equilibrium and surface effects. We use the van der Waals equation of state as a test bed to implement our model and study the phenomenology of the upcoming second neutralized drift compression experiment (NDCX-II) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) that uses ion beams for target heating.We find an approximate expression for the temperature difference between the droplets and the expanding gas and we check it with numerical calculations. The formula provides a useful criterion to distinguish the thermalized and nonthermalized regimes of expansion. In the thermalized case, the liquid fraction grows in a proportion that we estimate analytically, whereas, in case of too rapid expansion, a strict limit for the evaporation of droplets is derived. The range of experimental situations is discussed., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

A two-year study of recirculating induction heavy-ion accelerators (recirculators) as low-cost drivers for inertial-fusion energy power plants has recently been completed. A summary of that study and other recent work on recirculators is presented.

A 2 MV, 800 mA, K+ injector for heavy-ion fusion studies is under construction. This new injector is a one-beam version of the proposed 4-beam ILSE injector. A new 36-module MARX is being built to achieve a 5 μs flat top. The high-voltage generator is stiff (

The Heavy-Ion Fusion Accelerator Research Program at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory has proposed building a 10 MeV induction linac systems experiment, ILSE, to investigate accelerator physics and beam manipulations which are needed or desirable for an induction linac driver. This paper describes the experiments proposed for ILSE: transverse beam combining, drift compression, bending of space-charge-dominated beams, final focus, recirculation, and some studies of beam propagation in the environment of the reactor chamber.

A two‐year study of recirculating induction heavy ion accelerators as low‐cost driver for inertial‐fusion energy applications was recently completed. The projected cost of a 4 MJ accelerator was estimated to be about $500 M (million) and the efficiency was estimated to be 35%. The principal technology issues include energy recovery of the ramped dipole magnets, which is achieved through use of ringing inductive/capacitive circuits, and high repetition rates of the induction cell pulsers, which is accomplished through arrays of field effect transistor (FET) switches. Principal physics issues identified include minimization of particle loss from interactions with the background gas, and more demanding emittance growth and centroid control requirements associated with the propagation of space‐charge‐dominated beams around bends and over large path lengths. In addition, instabilities such as the longitudinal resistive instability, beam‐breakup instability and betatron‐orbit instability were found to be controllable with careful design.

This milestone has been accomplished. We have extended the theory that connects pyrometer and streak spectrometer data to material temperature on several fronts and have compared theory to NDCX-I experiments. For the case of NDCX-I, the data suggests that as the metallic foils are heated they break into droplets (cf. HIFS VNL Milestone Report FY 2009 Q4). Evaporation of the metallic surface will occur, but optical emission should be directly observable from the solid or liquid surface of the foil or from droplets. However, the emissivity of hot material may be changed from the cold material and interference effects will alter the spectrum emitted from small droplets. These effects have been incorporated into a theory of emission from droplets. We have measured emission using streaked spectrometry and together with theory of emission from heated droplets have inferred the temperature of a gold foil heated by the NDCX-I experiment. The intensity measured by the spectrometer is proportional to the emissivity times the blackbody intensity at the temperature of the foil or droplets. Traditionally, a functional form for the emissivity as a function of wavelength (such as a quadratic) is assumed and the three unknown emissivity parameters (for the case of a more » quadratic) and the temperature are obtained by minimizing the deviations from the fit. In the case of the NDCX-I experiment, two minima were obtained: at 7200 K and 2400 K. The best fit was at 7200 K. However, when the actual measured emissivity of gold was used and when the theoretical corrections for droplet interference effects were made for emission from droplets having radii in the range 0.2 to 2.0 microns, the corrected emissivity was consistent with the 2400 K value, whereas the fit emissivity at 7200 K shows no similarity to the corrected emissivity curves. Further, an estimate of the temperature obtained from beam heating is consistent with the lower value. This exercise proved to be a warning to be skeptical of assuming functional forms when they are unknown, and also represents a first success of the droplet emission theory. The thermal optical emission from a hot metal surface is polarized (for observation angles that are not normal to the surface). By observing the intensity of both polarizations at two or more observation angles the emissivity can be inferred directly, and the temperature at the surface unambiguously determined. Emission from the spolarization (where the E-field is parallel to the surface and normal to the wave vector) is generally less intense than emission from the p-polarization (E-field that is normal to the s-polarization E-field and the wave vector.) The emissivity and temperature may be inferred directly without assuming any specific functional form for the emissivity or resorting to published data tables (which usually do not apply when temperatures reach the WDM regime). We have derived the theory of polarized emission from hot metals, and consider an improved method of temperature determination that takes advantage of polarization measurements, which we call polarization pyrometry. Thus far we have successfully applied the theory to electrically heated metallic filaments, and will apply the theory to beam heated targets when chamber space constraints are removed that will make it feasible to observe the targets at multiple angles. For the case of experiments on NDCX-II, hydrodynamic expansion on a nanosecond timescale that is comparable to the heating time will result in an expanding fluid, with a strong (but finite) density and temperature gradient. Emission will be observed from positions in the foil near the critical density (where the observation photon frequency is equal to the local plasma frequency). By assuming a brightness temperature equal to the local fluid temperature at the critical frequency, a time history of the emission spectrum from an expanding foil can be synthesized from a hydrodynamic simulation of the target. We find that observations from the ultraviolet to the infrared will allow a probing of the target at different depths, and will allow a test of specific equations of state. Improved versions of this theory that integrate the electric field along a ray from the interior of the metal to observation point are being constructed to give a more accurate description of the emitted spectrum. « less

This milestone has been met. The effort contains two main components: (1) Experimental results of warm dense matter target experiments on optimized NDCX-I configurations that include measurements of target temperature and transient target behavior. (2) A theoretical model of the target response to beam heating that includes an equilibrium heating model of the target foil and a model for droplet formation in the target for comparison with experimental results. The experiments on ion-beam target heating use a 300-350-keV K{sup +} pulsed beam from the Neutralized Compression Drift Experiment (NDCX-I) accelerator at LBNL. The NDCX-I accelerator delivers an uncompressed pulse beam of several microseconds with a typical power density of >100 kW/cm{sup 2} over a final focus spot size of about 1 mm. An induction bunching module the NDCX-I compresses a portion of the beam pulse to reach a much higher power density over 2 nanoseconds. Under these conditions the free-standing foil targets are rapidly heated to temperatures to over 4000 K. We model the target thermal dynamics using the equation of heat conduction for the temperature T(x,t) as a function of time (t) and spatial dimension along the beam direction (x). The competing cooling processes release energy from the surfacemore » of the foil due to evaporation, radiation, and thermionic (Richardson) emission. A description of the experimental configuration of the target chamber and results from initial beam-target experiments are reported in our FY08 4th Quarter and FY09 2nd Quarter Milestone Reports. The WDM target diagnostics include a high-speed multichannel optical pyrometer, optical streak camera, VISAR, and high-speed gated cameras. The fast optical pyrometer is a unique and significant new diagnostic which provides valuable information on the temperature evolution of the heated target.« less

HIFAN 1757 HEAVY ION FUSION SCIENCE VIRTUAL NATIONAL LABORATORY, 3rd QUARTER 2009 MILESTONE REPORT, Upgrade plasma source configuration and carry out initial experiments. Characterize improvements in focal spot beam intensity by S. Lidia, A. Anders, F.M. Bieniosek, A. Faltens, W. Greenway, J.Y. Jung, T. Katayanagi, B.G. Logan, C.W. Lee, M. Leitner, P. Ni, A. Pekedis, M. J. Regis, P. K. Roy, P. A. Seidl, W. Waldron Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA J.J. Barnard, A. Friedman, D. Grote, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA M. Dorf, E. Gilson Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Accelerator Fusion Research Division Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory University of California June 2009 This work was supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

This effort contains two main components: The new induction-bunching module is expected to deliver higher fluence in the bunched beam, and the new target positioner will enable a significantly enhanced target physics repetition rate. The velocity ramp that bunches the K{sup +} beam in the neutralized drift compression section is established with a bipolar voltage ramp applied to an acceleration gap. An induction acceleration module creates this voltage waveform. The new bunching module (IBM) specially built for NDCX has approximately twice the capability (volt-seconds) as our original IBM. We reported on the beam line design for the best use of the bunching module in our FY08 Q2 report. Based on simulations and theoretical work, we chose to extend the drift compression section and use the additional volt-seconds to extend the pulse duration and keep the peak voltage swing (and velocity excursions) similar to the present module. Simulations showed that this approach, which extends the drift section, to be advantageous because it limits the chromatic aberrations in the beam spot on target. To this end, colleagues at PPPL have fabricated the meter-long extension to the ferroelectric plasma source and it was installed on the beam line with the new IBM inmore » January 2009. Simulation results suggest a factor of two increase in energy deposition from the bunched beam. In the first WDM target run (August-November 2008) the target handling setup required opening the vacuum system to manually replace the target after each shot (which destroys the target). Because of the requirement for careful alignment of each individual target, the target shot repetition rate was no greater than 1 shot per day. Initial results of this run are reported in our FY08 4th Quarter Milestone Report. Based on the valuable experience gained in the initial run, we have designed and installed an improved target alignment and positioning system with the capability to reposition targets remotely. This capability allows us to significantly increase our shot repetition rate, and to take greater advantage of the pinhole/cone arrangement we have developed to localize the beam at final focus. In addition we have improved the capability of the optical diagnostic systems, and we have installed a new beam current transformer downstream of the target to monitor beam current transmitted through the target during an experiment. These improvements will allow us to better exploit the inherent capability of the NDCX facility for high repetition rate and thus to provide more detailed experimental data to assess WDM physics models of target behavior. This milestone has been met by demonstrating highly compressed beams with the new bunching module, which are neutralized in the longer drift compression section by the new ferro-electric plasma sources. The peak uncompressed beam intensity ({approx}600 kW/cm{sup 2}) is higher than in previous measurements, and the bunched beam current profiles are {approx}2ns. We have also demonstrated a large increase in the experimental data acquisition rate for target heating experiments. In the first test of the new remote-controlled target positioning system, we completed three successful target physics shots in less than two hours. Further improvements are expected.« less