Initial Operation of the Extraction Diode on PBFA II at Sandia National Laboratories
PBFA II was modified in June 1995 to allow ion beam generation in an axially focusing, extraction diode
(PBFA X). In this new configuration, the magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL) brings the power pulse
from the center of the accelerator (where the radially focusing, barrel diode used to be), out through the bottom
of the accelerator, and into the facility basement. The extraction ion diode mounts on the end of the MITL. The
first extraction ion diode shot occurred September 29. The experiments are in a new, higher-voltage regime of
operation for extraction ion diodes. The present peak operating voltage in the ion mode is 8 MV. After the ion
diode is suitably optimized we will test the 15-MV mode, which uses the top as well as the bottom half of the
accelerator in series. The shot rate in the low-voltage (8-MV) mode is averaging two per day. This represents a
substantial improvement over the average shot rate of two per week in the radially focusing configuration. An
increased shot rate can be important because of the faster learning rate that it implies. Better diagnostic access
and simpler hardware components are responsible for the improved shot rate.
Other Reports on High Energy Density and Inertial Confinement Fusion
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