Investigating the Heating of a Potassium-Doped Aluminosilicate Ion Source Using a 1 Micron Laser

The heavy ion fusion (HIF) program is interested in developing a high brightness ion source for high energy density physics (HEDP) experiments. One possible approach to obtaining higher brightness may be to raise the surface temperature of the ion source just prior to extraction. The current ion source material being studied is a layer of potassium-doped aluminosilicate bonded to a tungsten substrate. It is speculated that if the surface temperature of the source is raised above 1200 C (from a steady-state temperature of 900 C) for time periods on the order of 100's of nanoseconds, current densities of greater than 100 mA/cm{sup 2} of ions may be achievable. Typical aluminosilicate sources produce ion current densities (either K+ or Na+ ions) of {approx}10 mA/cm{sup 2} (at 1100 C). A number of heating methods might be possible, including lasers, diode arrays, and flash lamps. Here we assume laser heating. In this preliminary study, we used the LLNL RadHeat code to model the time-temperature history of the surface when hit by laser pulses and illustrate how RadHeat can be used to optimize the surface temperature response. Also of interest is the temperature history of the interface temperature between the ceramic and the metal more » layers. This is also investigated. « less