Study of ion beam-initiated inertial-confinement fusion. Final report, January 1, 1981-December 31, 1981

For the past four years, Occidental Research Corporation has been conducting a fusion program which is based on a reactor concept in which geometrically focused and time compressed beams of cold light ions and neutralizing cold electrons from large area sources are ballistically propagated over several meters through a near vacuum to implode a pellet target. The approach combines the cost advantage of efficient moderate voltage pulsed power technology with the simplicity-advantage of unguided ballistic propagation. In addition, the compactness, efficiency, focusability and energy range of the system makes the approach of great interest for supplementary heating of magnetically confined fusion plasmas. Theoretical analyses have been made of beam-target interaction, beam progagation and source accelerator design. A one-dimensional implosion and nuclear burn code indicates that significant yields can be obtained from simple targets with moderately energetic light ions. Experimentally the short-term objective is to demonstrate that the required degree of space-time focusing can be achieved on a 200-500 keV electron neutralized ion (or plasma) beam from a simple prototype 100 sq cm low temperature zeolite source