Neutron Measurements from High Input Power Experiments on the FuZE-Q Device at Zap Energy

The FuZE-Q device at Zap Energy, operational since late 2022, forms and sustains sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch plasmas. The device has been operated with three different power supply configurations, leading to greater understanding of fusion performance scaling with the input voltage and current. Recent tests, with peak input power in the 10s of GW, have generated single-pulse neutron yields above 1e10 neutrons per pulse, with a strong positive correlation observed on scaling with applied voltage. Alongside these experiments, diagnostics for detecting deuterium-deuterium fusion products – both neutrons and protons – have been developed and provide insight into the source and nature of the fusion yield. These diagnostics include an array of scintillator-coupled photomultiplier tubes, activation detectors, and single-shot Cr39 films – which combine to enable both spatial and temporal characterization of the fusion reactions [1].

1. Time-resolved measurement of neutron energy isotropy in a sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinch, R.A. Ryan et al, Nuclear Fusion, Volume 65, Number 2