Kinetic Modeling of Laser-Induced Fusion
Abstract
Thermal neutrons are of considerable interest to the Department of Defense and for commercial applications. Unlike high energy photons, neutrons easily penetrate high density targets, but get effectively absorbed by low density materials like paraffin, nylon or explosives. This makes them attractive complements to X-rays for radiographic applications, e.g. for the detection or inspection of explosives inside steel casings. The key challenge is to develop a compact generator for thermal neutrons with large enough flux. The limited availability of radio-isotopes, combined with the relatively short half-life, safety constraints and regulatory requirements make them unattractive for wide-spread use. An alternative design exploits the Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) fusion, which generates Alpha particles and fast neutrons. In these sources, Deuterium ions are accelerated to about 130 keV and hit a Tritium target. The acceleration of Deuterium ions is usually accomplished in a diode configuration. Recently, considerable success has been achieved in the acceleration of ions via laser-matter interaction. In this project we investigated whether laser-accelerated ions could undergo nuclear fusion in an adequately designed target and could be used for neutron sources. We therefore enhanced our proprietary plasma simulation code VORPAL with a model for fusion reactions and investigated the generation of neutrons in shaped D-T targets. We find that neutron fluxes large enough for radiographic applications can be generated by utilizing moderate (~ 10(exp 17)-10(exp 18) W/sq cm) laser intensities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA485333
Entities
People
- Jean-luc Cambier
- Kevin Paul
- Peter Messmer
- Peter Stoltz