EP0362947A1 - Mit einer multizellulären Ionenquelle mit magnetischem Einschluss versehene abgeschmolzene Neutronenröhre - Google Patents

Mit einer multizellulären Ionenquelle mit magnetischem Einschluss versehene abgeschmolzene Neutronenröhre Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0362947A1
EP0362947A1 EP89202465A EP89202465A EP0362947A1 EP 0362947 A1 EP0362947 A1 EP 0362947A1 EP 89202465 A EP89202465 A EP 89202465A EP 89202465 A EP89202465 A EP 89202465A EP 0362947 A1 EP0362947 A1 EP 0362947A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
holes
ion source
anode
neutron tube
ion
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP89202465A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0362947B1 (de
Inventor
Henri Société Civile S.P.I.D. Bernardet
Xavier Société Civile S.P.I.D. Godechot
Claude Société Civile S.P.I.D. Lejeune
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
SODERN SA
Koninklijke Philips NV
Original Assignee
SODERN SA
Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken NV
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05H—PLASMA TECHNIQUE; PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS
    • H05H3/00—Production or acceleration of neutral particle beams, e.g. molecular or atomic beams
    • H05H3/06—Generating neutron beams
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J27/00—Ion beam tubes
    • H01J27/02—Ion sources; Ion guns
    • H01J27/04—Ion sources; Ion guns using reflex discharge, e.g. Penning ion sources

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a sealed neutron tube containing a low-pressure deuterium-tritium gas mixture from which an ion source with two electrodes (anode and cathode) forms an ionized gas channeled by a confining magnetic field created by magnets or by any other means of creating said field, said source emitting from emission channels made in said cathode ion beams which pass through an extraction-acceleration electrode and are projected at high energy onto a target electrode to produce there a fusion reaction resulting in the emission of neutrons.
  • Neutron tubes of the same kind are used in the techniques of examination of matter by fast, thermal, epithermal or cold neutrons: neutronography, analysis by activation, analysis by spectrometry of inelastic diffusions or radiative captures, neutron scattering etc. .
  • the d (3 H , 4 He ) n fusion reaction delivering 14 MeV neutrons is usually the most used due to its large cross section for relatively low ion energies.
  • the number of neutrons obtained per unit of charge passing through the beam is always increasing as the energy of the ions directed towards a thick target is itself increasing and this largely at the beyond the energies of the ions obtained in the sealed tubes currently available and supplied by a THT not exceeding 250 kV.
  • the erosion of the target by ion bombardment is one of the most determining.
  • Erosion is a function of the chemical nature and structure of the target on the one hand, the energy of the incident ions and their density distribution profile on the impact surface on the other.
  • the target consists of a hydrurable material (Titanium, Scandium, Zirconium, Erbium etc ...) capable of fixing and releasing large quantities of hydrogen without significant disturbance of its mechanical strength; the total quantity set is a function of the target temperature and the hydrogen pressure in the tube.
  • the target materials used are deposited in the form of thin layers, the thickness of which is limited by problems of adhesion of the layer to its support.
  • One way to delay erosion of the target is, for example, to form the absorbent active layer from a stack of identical layers isolated from each other by a diffusion barrier. The thickness of each of the active layers is of the order of the depth of penetration of the deuterium ions coming to strike the target.
  • Another way of protecting the target and therefore of increasing the lifetime of the tube consists in acting on the ion beam so as to improve its density distribution profile on the impact surface. At a constant total ion current on the target, which results in a constant neutron emission, this improvement will result from a distribution as uniform as possible of the current density over the entire surface offered by the target to the bombardment of the ions.
  • the ions are generally supplied by a Penning type ion source which has the advantage of being robust, of being cold cathode (hence a long service life), of give large discharge currents for low pressures (of the order of 10 A / torr), to have a high extraction yield (from 20 to 40%) and to be of small dimensions.
  • This type of source has the drawback of requiring a magnetic field of the order of a thousand gauss, parallel to the axis of the ionization chamber, introducing significant transverse inhomogeneity in current density of the ions at the inside the landfill and at the level of the extraction which takes place along the common axis of the field and the source.
  • the object of the invention is to provide a source device enabling these disadvantages to be overcome.
  • said ion source is of multicellular type consisting of a structure of elementary cells of Penning type comprising for all of said cells a cavity cathode inside of which is disposed a multi-hole anode, the axes of said holes being aligned respectively on the corresponding axes of said emission channels, the number of said holes being optimized so as to increase the extracted ion beam for equivalent bulk of said ion source, the shape and / or dimensions and / or positioning of said holes being adapted to the topology of said magnetic field.
  • an additional gain in the discharge current may result from the increase in length of the structure of the multicellular ion source. This gain can go up to a factor of 2.
  • the increase in current resulting from the new source configuration can then be used to reduce the operating pressure of the neutron tube and thus limit the harmful impact of ion-gas reactions.
  • the feasibility of the multicell structure assumes that a magnetic field is suitable for the proper functioning of a Penning structure, in particular at the level of the relationship between the magnetic induction and the hole radius of the multi-hole anode.
  • the variation of the magnetic field in level and according to the shape of the lines of force can be corrected by an increase in said radius, which amounts to making structures with a variable anode radius.
  • a better adaptation of the shape of the anode to the magnetic lines of force can be obtained by replacing the cylindrical structures of circular or square section by frustoconical structures so as to make the generators of truncated cones coincide with the lines of force that build on the contours of the holes.
  • the ions of the different structures are emitted through channels made in the cathode acting as an emission electrode. These channels, the number of which is identical to that of the elementary cells, are arranged respectively along the same axes of symmetry. In the case of structures with a circular section, the diameter is a function of the electric field applied and the thickness of the electrode.
  • a variant of this system consists in introducing an expansion chamber below the cathodes in order to standardize the densities in the vicinity of the emission which then takes place through orifices the arrangement of which can be almost independent of that of the elementary cells.
  • the extraction-acceleration electrode can be constituted by an electrode provided with n orifices having axes corresponding respectively to those of the n elementary cells, or with j orifices smaller than the number of n elementary cells and therefore diameters greater than those of the emission channels and whose arrangement avoids any interception of the beams.
  • This extraction-acceleration electrode can be increased in order to improve the mechanical strength and to allow cooling by forced circulation of fluid.
  • FIG. 1 shows the main basic elements of a sealed neutron tube 11 containing a gaseous mixture under low pressure to be ionized such as deuterium-tritium and which comprises an ion source 1 and an extraction-acceleration electrode 2 between which there is a very high potential difference allowing the extraction and acceleration of the ion beam 3 and its projection on the target 4 where the fusion reaction takes place resulting in the emission of neutrons at 14 MeV for example.
  • a sealed neutron tube 11 containing a gaseous mixture under low pressure to be ionized such as deuterium-tritium and which comprises an ion source 1 and an extraction-acceleration electrode 2 between which there is a very high potential difference allowing the extraction and acceleration of the ion beam 3 and its projection on the target 4 where the fusion reaction takes place resulting in the emission of neutrons at 14 MeV for example.
  • the ion source 1 secured to an insulator 5 for the passage of the THT supply connector is a Penning type source for example, consisting of a cylindrical anode 6, a cathode cavity 7 to which is incorporated a magnet 8 with an axial magnetic field which confines the ionized gas 9 around the axis of the anode cylinder and whose lines of force 10 show a certain divergence.
  • An ion emission channel 12 is formed in said cathode cavity opposite the anode.
  • FIG. 2a shows the profile of the density J of bombardment of the ions in any radial direction Or, from the point of impact 0 of the central axis of the beam on the target surface.
  • the shape of this profile highlights the inhomogeneous nature of this beam whose very high density in the central part decreases rapidly when one moves away from it.
  • erosion takes place as a function of the bombardment density and the entire layer of hydrurable material of thickness e deposited on a substrate S is saturated with a deuterium-tritium mixture.
  • the depth of penetration of the deuterium-tritium energy ions represented in dotted lines is effected over a depth which is a function of this energy.
  • the erosion of the layer is such that the penetration depth l2 is greater than the thickness e in the most bombarded part; a part of the incident ions is implanted in the substrate and very quickly the atoms of deuterium and tritium are in supersaturation.
  • FIG. 3 shows a neutron tube provided with a Pennell type multicellular ion source consisting of a cathode cavity 7 and a multi-hole anode 6, brought to a potential 4 to 8 kV higher than that of the cathode cavity itself brought to a very high voltage of 250 kV for example.
  • a Pennell type multicellular ion source consisting of a cathode cavity 7 and a multi-hole anode 6, brought to a potential 4 to 8 kV higher than that of the cathode cavity itself brought to a very high voltage of 250 kV for example.
  • the magnet 8 provides a magnetic field for confining the ionized gas of the order of a thousand gauss.
  • the invention consists in exploiting the property of multicellular discharge structures with containment of magnetic type, namely that for the same anode section, the discharge current as well as the current of the ion beam extracted from this discharge are respectively greater in the case of a multicellular source structure than the same currents obtained in the case of a single-cell structure. Likewise, it is more advantageous to use a multicell structure with n anode holes than a multicell structure with m holes if n> m.
  • Each section of the structure with n holes is then smaller than each of the sections of the structure with m holes; but the aforementioned advantage is only ensured if the anode section remains equivalent for said structures, which makes it possible to reduce the pressure of the gaseous mixture and therefore the probability of ion-gas reactions.
  • the number of orifices made in the extraction-acceleration electrode is less than that of the beams coming from the source: for example each orifice 13 of this electrode 2 delivers passage to two beams from the source as shown in the figure.
  • the divergence of the lines of force of the magnetic field shows that it is very high in the central zone and gradually decreases to a very low value on the periphery.
  • the anode holes 6′1, 6′2, ..., 6 ′ n are formed as shown in FIG. 5 with radii varying in opposite directions to the magnetic field so that the product of magnetic induction by the anode radius remains substantially constant. This arrangement tends to standardize the ion current density.
  • the device shown in Figure 6 provides a significant improvement in that the anode holes 6 ⁇ 1, 6 ⁇ 2, ..., 6 ⁇ n have frustoconical shapes which approximate the lines of force of the magnetic field.
  • an expansion chamber 14 is arranged below the cathodes in order to standardize the ion densities.
  • the emission is carried out through orifices 15 the number of which can be independent of that of the holes of the multi-hole anode.
  • the increase in the ratio of the intensity of the beam to the pressure in the neutron tube, resulting from the multicellular source structure of the invention can be exploited in various ways: - With an identical ion path, the creations of ion / electron pairs on the path of the ion beam are less numerous and the energy deposited in the ion source by the re-accelerated electrons is less; the heating of the ion source is lower and consequently the degassing of the constituent materials is reduced. The heavy ions resulting from this degassing are less numerous and their contribution to the erosion of the target weaker. Furthermore, the average energy of the deuterium-tritium ions is increased, which can make it possible to reduce the tube current.
  • the maximum current in pulsed mode can be increased in the ratio of pressures Pmax / P, Pmax being the maximum operating pressure not causing a change in the speed of tube operation (passage of the discharge in arc mode).
  • Pmax being the maximum operating pressure not causing a change in the speed of tube operation (passage of the discharge in arc mode).
  • the distribution of the current on the target is much more homogeneous due on the one hand to the homogeneity of the discharge at the level of the emission channels and on the other hand to the multiplication of the number of elementary beams. This results in a decrease in the maximum ion density and at the same beam current an increase in lifetime.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Spectroscopy & Molecular Physics (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Particle Accelerators (AREA)
  • Electron Sources, Ion Sources (AREA)
EP89202465A 1988-10-07 1989-10-02 Mit einer multizellulären Ionenquelle mit magnetischem Einschluss versehene abgeschmolzene Neutronenröhre Expired - Lifetime EP0362947B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR8813187 1988-10-07
FR8813187A FR2637726A1 (fr) 1988-10-07 1988-10-07 Tube neutronique scelle equipe d'une source d'ions multicellulaire a confinement magnetique

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0362947A1 true EP0362947A1 (de) 1990-04-11
EP0362947B1 EP0362947B1 (de) 1995-04-26

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EP89202465A Expired - Lifetime EP0362947B1 (de) 1988-10-07 1989-10-02 Mit einer multizellulären Ionenquelle mit magnetischem Einschluss versehene abgeschmolzene Neutronenröhre

Country Status (5)

Country Link
US (1) US5078950A (de)
EP (1) EP0362947B1 (de)
JP (1) JP2825025B2 (de)
DE (1) DE68922364T2 (de)
FR (1) FR2637726A1 (de)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0473233A1 (de) * 1990-08-31 1992-03-04 Societe Anonyme D'etudes Et Realisations Nucleaires S.O.D.E.R.N. Hochfluss-Neutronenröhre
EP0645947A1 (de) 1993-09-29 1995-03-29 Societe Anonyme D'etudes Et Realisations Nucleaires - Sodern Neutronenröhre mit magnetischem Elektroneneinschluss durch Dauermagneten und dessen Herstellungsverfahren
US6441569B1 (en) 1998-12-09 2002-08-27 Edward F. Janzow Particle accelerator for inducing contained particle collisions
WO2021091399A1 (en) 2019-11-06 2021-05-14 Kando Innovation Limited Productivity enhancement apparatus for power operated skinning equipment

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP3122081B2 (ja) * 1998-11-25 2001-01-09 石油公団 中性子発生管
WO2008150336A2 (en) * 2007-05-02 2008-12-11 The University Of Houston System A portable/mobile fissible material detector and methods for making and using same
US8891721B1 (en) 2011-03-30 2014-11-18 Sandia Corporation Neutron generators with size scalability, ease of fabrication and multiple ion source functionalities
CN102243900A (zh) * 2011-06-28 2011-11-16 中国原子能科学研究院 一种核反应堆启动用一次中子源部件
CN102709140B (zh) * 2012-05-23 2014-09-17 四川大学 一种用于中子管的气体放电型离子源
RU2634483C1 (ru) * 2016-12-09 2017-10-31 Федеральное государственное бюджетное научное учреждение "Федеральный исследовательский центр Институт прикладной физики Российской академии наук" (ИПФ РАН) Источник нейтронов ограниченных размеров для нейтронной томографии
IL281747B2 (en) 2021-03-22 2024-04-01 N T Tao Ltd System and method for creating plasma with high efficiency
RU209936U1 (ru) * 2021-11-24 2022-03-24 Федеральное Государственное Унитарное Предприятие "Всероссийский Научно-Исследовательский Институт Автоматики Им.Н.Л.Духова" (Фгуп "Внииа") Импульсный нейтронный генератор

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2806161A (en) * 1952-07-08 1957-09-10 Jr John S Foster Coasting arc ion source
LU46217A1 (de) * 1963-06-12 1964-08-01
NL7707357A (en) * 1977-07-04 1979-01-08 Philips Nv Anode for neutron generator ion source - has holes aligned to outlets in cathode converging beams on target
EP0036665A1 (de) * 1980-03-26 1981-09-30 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Ionengenerator
US4447773A (en) * 1981-06-22 1984-05-08 California Institute Of Technology Ion beam accelerator system
GB2136328A (en) * 1983-02-17 1984-09-19 Marconi Co Ltd A method of making a grid

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB980947A (en) * 1961-06-30 1965-01-20 Atomic Energy Authority Uk Neutron generator
DE1303276B (de) * 1964-08-18 Philips Nv
JPS594819B2 (ja) * 1975-10-08 1984-02-01 双葉電子工業株式会社 イオン源
FR2550681B1 (fr) * 1983-08-12 1985-12-06 Centre Nat Rech Scient Source d'ions a au moins deux chambres d'ionisation, en particulier pour la formation de faisceaux d'ions chimiquement reactifs

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2806161A (en) * 1952-07-08 1957-09-10 Jr John S Foster Coasting arc ion source
LU46217A1 (de) * 1963-06-12 1964-08-01
NL7707357A (en) * 1977-07-04 1979-01-08 Philips Nv Anode for neutron generator ion source - has holes aligned to outlets in cathode converging beams on target
EP0036665A1 (de) * 1980-03-26 1981-09-30 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Ionengenerator
US4447773A (en) * 1981-06-22 1984-05-08 California Institute Of Technology Ion beam accelerator system
GB2136328A (en) * 1983-02-17 1984-09-19 Marconi Co Ltd A method of making a grid

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
REVUE DE PHYSIQUEAPPLIQUEE, vol. 12, no. 12, décembre 1977, pages 1835-1848; C. LEJEUNE et al.: "Multiduoplasmatron et multiduopigatron : sources de plasma uniforme pour la formation de faisceaux d'ions multiamperes" *

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0473233A1 (de) * 1990-08-31 1992-03-04 Societe Anonyme D'etudes Et Realisations Nucleaires S.O.D.E.R.N. Hochfluss-Neutronenröhre
FR2666477A1 (fr) * 1990-08-31 1992-03-06 Sodern Tube neutronique a flux eleve.
EP0645947A1 (de) 1993-09-29 1995-03-29 Societe Anonyme D'etudes Et Realisations Nucleaires - Sodern Neutronenröhre mit magnetischem Elektroneneinschluss durch Dauermagneten und dessen Herstellungsverfahren
FR2710782A1 (fr) * 1993-09-29 1995-04-07 Sodern Tube neutronique à confinement magnétique des électrons par aimants permanents et son procédé de fabrication.
US5745537A (en) * 1993-09-29 1998-04-28 U.S. Philips Corporation Neutron tube with magnetic confinement of the electrons by permanent magnets and its method of manufacture
US6441569B1 (en) 1998-12-09 2002-08-27 Edward F. Janzow Particle accelerator for inducing contained particle collisions
WO2021091399A1 (en) 2019-11-06 2021-05-14 Kando Innovation Limited Productivity enhancement apparatus for power operated skinning equipment

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0362947B1 (de) 1995-04-26
DE68922364D1 (de) 1995-06-01
DE68922364T2 (de) 1995-12-14
FR2637726A1 (fr) 1990-04-13
JPH02276198A (ja) 1990-11-13
JP2825025B2 (ja) 1998-11-18
US5078950A (en) 1992-01-07

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