Source fabrication and lifetime for Li+ ion beams extracted from alumino-silicate sources.

A space-charge-limited beam with current densities (J) exceeding 1 mA/cm(2) have been measured from lithium alumino-silicate ion sources at a temperature of ∼1275 °C. At higher extraction voltages, the source appears to become emission limited with J ≥ 1.5 mA/cm(2), and J increases weakly with the applied voltage.

Li+ alumino-silicate ion source development for the neutralized drift compression experiment.

We report results on lithium alumino-silicate ion source development in preparation for warm dense matter heating experiments on the new neutralized drift compression experiment II. The practical limit to the current density for a lithium alumino-silicate source is determined by the maximum operating temperature that the ion source can withstand before running into problems of heat transfer, melting of the alumino-silicate material, and emission lifetime. Using small prototype emitters, at a temperature of ≈1275 °C, a space-charge limited Li(+) beam current density of J ≈1 mA/cm(2) was obtained.

Ion source for neutral beam injection meant for plasma and magnetic field diagnostics.

At the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory a diagnostic neutral beam injection system for measuring plasma parameters, flow velocity, and local magnetic field is being developed. The system is designed to have a 90% proton fraction and small divergence with beam current at 5-6 A and a pulse length of approximately 1 s occurring once every 1-2 min. The ion source needs to generate uniform plasma over a large (8 x 5 cm(2)) extraction area.