The Plasmonic Enhanced Extreme Light Focusing for the Nuclear Fusion Study
Abstract
The objective of this research is to test the hypothesis that an intensive femtosecond laser pulse is tightly focused in a small space on a nanometer scale through a surface plasmonic effect of gold nanostructures. The energy of the extremely high intensity light at the focused spot is absorbed by a deuterated material, for example deuterated water, which results in a Coulomb explosion to accelerate deuterons to many keV for a fusion reaction. A lattice of gold nanostructures will work together to nano-focus femtosecond laser pulse to produce neutrons that have a definite phase relationship, forming coherent neutron pulse beam for potential applications including imaging and energy research. When we do experiments to test this hypothesis, however, we find that the existing knowledge is not enough to understand the preliminary experimental results. In order to find the answers to the questions raised when we do the explanations, we will perform a systematic study with our nanotechnology and femtosecond laser techniques: 1) Testing Coulomb explosion; 2) Study of the time when gold nanostructures melt; 3) Study of the optical nonlinearity of the plasmons on gold nanoparticle surfaces; 4) Study of the relation between the plasmonic resonance frequency and the neutrons generation efficiency; 5) Study of the nanostructure-arrays for the plasmonic laser fusion. The approach is radically different from the conventional ones from the point of view of nuclear physics as well as from the perspective of nano-science and technology.ÊÊ Insights obtained from this research will contribute to the scientific community in several ways: (a) an understanding of the nanostructured surfaces will enable the preparation of other devices at very low cost; (b) knowledge will fill gaps in the literature in the areas of nuclear fusion and nanoscience and technology; and (c) research results will broaden the applications of surface plasmons. This basic research can be directly used to generate a portable coherent neutron pulse beam for imaging; a neutron beam can penetrate through substance like lead but not hydrocarbons, which is opposite to X-ray that can penetrate through hydrocarbons but not lead. A neutron beam imaging compensates an X-ray imaging. This will be an important tool in the future; it can solve the problems that an X-ray computed tomography (CT) could not solve. The knowledge of the proposed research is also useful for further study for the deuterium fusion ignition to solve the globe energy problem permanently. Research results will be incorporated into graduate and undergraduate education at the PIÕs institution. Graduate students involved in the project will become knowledgeable in state-of-the-art nanoscience and technology and nuclear fusion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 20, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1810172
Entities
People
- Mengyan Shen
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Massachusetts