Negative ion-based beam injector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10887976-B2
Application number	US-201916453949-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 26, 2019
Priority date	Mar 8, 2013
Publication date	Jan 5, 2021
Grant date	Jan 5, 2021

Abstract

A negative ion-based beam injector comprising a negative ion source and an accelerator. The ions produced by the ion source are pre-accelerated before injection into a high energy accelerator by an electrostatic multi-aperture grid pre-accelerator, which is used to extract ion beams from the plasma and accelerate to some fraction of the required beam energy. The beam from the ion source passes through a pair of deflecting magnets, which enable the beam to shift off axis before entering the high energy accelerator. The negative ion-based beam injector can be combined with a neutralizer to produce about a 5 MW neutral beam with energy of about 0.50 to 1.0 MeV. After acceleration to full energy, the beam enters the neutralizer where it is partially converted into a neutral beam. The remaining ion species are separated by a magnet and directed into electrostatic energy converters. The neutral beam passes through a gate valve and enters a plasma chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ion-based beam injector comprises
an ion source configured to produce an ion beam, the ion source including a pre-accelerator comprising an electrostatic grid and external magnets positioned adjacent the electrostatic grid to deflect co-extracted electrons in an ion extraction and pre-acceleration region, and
an accelerator spaced apart from the pre-accelerator.

2. The injector of claim 1 , further comprising a transition zone interposing the ion source and the accelerator.

3. The injector of claim 2 , wherein the transition zone comprises a low energy beam transport line.

4. The injector of claim 3 , wherein the low energy beam transport line includes cesium traps.

5. The injector of claim 3 , wherein the low energy beam transport line includes bending magnets that deflect orthogonally to its direction of motion and focus the beam onto the axis of the accelerator.

6. The injector of claim 2 , wherein the ion source includes a plasma container and plasma drivers.

7. The injector of claim 6 , wherein internal walls of the plasma container are configured to maintain elevated temperatures of 150-200° C.

8. The injector of claim 1 , wherein the ion source includes a plasma container and plasma drivers.

9. The injector of claim 8 , wherein internal walls of the plasma container are configured to maintain elevated temperatures of 150-200° C.

10. The injector of claim 1 , wherein the electrostatic grid having a plurality of electrodes, wherein each of the plurality of electrodes having a plurality of apertures.

11. The injector of claim 10 , further comprising a pumping system to pump gas out from a pre-acceleration gap.

12. The injector of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the plurality of electrodes is biased to pre-accelerate ions of opposite polarity in the ion beam.

13. The injector of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of apertures are configured for focusing and passing ions to form the ion beam.

14. The injector of claim 1 , further comprising a pumping system to pump gas out from a pre-acceleration gap.

15. The injector of claim 1 , further comprising a neutralizer interconnected to the accelerator.

Assignees

• Tae Tech Inc

Inventors

• Belchenko Yuri I
• Burdakov Alexander V
• Davydenko Vladimir I
• Dimov Gennady I
• Ivanov Alexandr A
• Kobets Valeery V
• Smirnov Artem N
• Binderbauer Michl W
• Sevier Donald L
• Richardson Terence E

Classifications

• G21K1/00

  Arrangements for handling particles or ionising radiation, e.g. focusing or moderating · CPC title

• H05H3/02 Primary

  Molecular or atomic-beam generation, e.g. resonant beam generation · CPC title