Preliminary numerical study of Thailand Plasma Focus II (TPF-II) design

In this work, we use the Lee model to predict the plasma parameters, such as plasma temperature and pinch duration, in the 3.37 kJ DPF device, called 'Thailand Plasma Focus-II (TPF-II).' This numerical result is then used to optimize the electrode parameters for the maximum production rate of 18F. The crossing point of pinch duration and pinch temperature is considered to obtain the appropriate electrode length, anode radius and gas gap between anode and cathode. The gas gap between both electrodes is indicated in ratio between cathode radius and anode radius, c. The results show that the best values of c, anode radius and electrode length are 1.48, 1.2 cm and 26.1 cm, respectively, in which the plasma pinch temperature, peak current and pinch duration of 0.76 keV, 207 kA and 8.725 ns can be obtained. (author)