Development of a Cs-free negative hydrogen ion source system using multi-pulsed plasma sources

Area of Science:

• Plasma Physics
• Fusion Energy Technology
• Particle Accelerator Science

Background:

• Traditional negative ion sources often rely on cesium, which presents challenges in operational stability and system contamination.
• Developing cesium-free alternatives is crucial for advancing fusion energy and particle accelerator technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the temporal behavior of negative deuterium ions in a novel cesium-free pulsed plasma ion source.
• To evaluate the efficiency of dual alternating plasma pulsing for negative ion generation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a novel dual pulsed plasma source incorporating magnetic filters and temporal filtering.
• Performed time-resolved measurements of laser photodetachment current to assess negative ion density.
• Analyzed the temporal characteristics of negative ion density during the afterglow state.

Main Results:

• Observed significantly higher negative ion current in the afterglow state compared to the active glow state, reaching up to three times the steady-state continuous wave plasma levels.
• Demonstrated that dual alternating pulsing prolongs the high-current duration, surpassing the capabilities of single pulsing.
• Indicated highly efficient negative ion volume formation due to the pulsing technique.

Conclusions:

• The proposed dual pulsed plasma ion source system achieves highly efficient negative ion generation without cesium.
• The ability to modulate and prolong negative ion supply makes this system a promising alternative to cesium-seeded sources.
• This technology holds potential for continuous, high-density negative ion beams in fusion and accelerator applications.