Optimization design of tritium target for compact DT neutron generator

Neutron generator is a small accelerator neutron source, and its yield is limited by the heating effect caused by the increase of ion beam intensity. The high beam power will cause the target to overheat, and hydrogen will be released after exceeding the limit. A water-cooled target system was designed in order to improve the neutron yield and control the target temperature below the hydrogen release temperature (considered to be 200 °C). The parts of the target film, substrate and cooling system were studied. A large number of solid-fluid coupling calculations and heat transfer analysis were used to determine the final optimized target system structure. A copper-molybdenum alloy substrate was selected and a cooling system was placed. The target film was coated with a magnesium target Ni protective layer, which effectively reduced the irradiation damage of the magnesium film while increasing the yield. The yield of the optimized DT neutron generator reaches 10¹¹n/s when the ion beam intensity is 500 μA and the incident energy is 200 keV, and the operating temperature is not more than 200 °C. This avoids the risk of tritium loss in the target due to hydrogen release.