Optimal conditions for high neutron yields in deuterium gas-puff z-pinches

Deuterium gas-puff z-pinches are researched primarily as efficient sources of DD fusion neutrons. The first experiment with a deuterium gas jet was carried out in 1978 [1]. Since then, several D₂ gas-puff experiments were performed on various pulsed-power generators. The highest DD neutron yields of about 4×10¹³ were observed on the Z-machine 15 years ago [2]. More recently, we have carried out z-pinch experiments on the HAWK (NRL, Washington, DC) and GIT-12 (IHCE, Tomsk) generators at 0.7 MA and 3 MA currents, respectively. On GIT-12, we observed average neutron yields of 2×10¹² neutrons and neutrons up to 60 MeV [3]. To confirm the efficient neutron production and high neutron energies independently on another device, we performed several experimental campaigns on the HAWK generator [4]. Comparing the GIT-12 and HAWK experiments helped us understand which parameters are essential for optimized neutron production and how ion acceleration scales with the current.

[1] Shiloh, et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 515518 (1978). [2] Coverdale, et al. Phys. Plasmas 14, 022706 (2007). [3] Klir, et al. New J. Phys. 22, 103036 (2020). [4] Klir, et al. Matter Radiat. Extrem. 5, 026401 (2020).