Pulsed neutron source from interaction of relativistic laser pulse with micro-structure assisted pitcher-catcher target
PLASMA PHYSICS AND CONTROLLED FUSION(2022)
摘要
Neutron detection technology is a powerful method for characterizing fundamental and industrial materials, such as magnetic materials, nanomaterials, polymers, and biological substances. A compact pulsed neutron source is desired, as the traditional way of producing high-yield neutrons depends mainly on large-scale accelerators or fission reactors. Here, we propose a scheme to generate a high-yield pulsed neutron source by using a >100 fs relativistic laser pulse interacting with a micro-structure assisted pitcher-catcher target. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell and Monte Carlo hybrid simulations demonstrate that an energetic deuterium ion beam with a cutoff energy of 75 MeV and a 7.23% laser-to-deuterium energy conversion efficiency can be obtained with a laser pulse of intensity 1.37 x 10(20) W cm(-2), duration 330 fs, power 34 TW and energy 6.7 J. When they strike the following lithium fluoride converter of thickness 2 cm, a large number of neutrons are thus produced via a Li-7(d,n) nuclear reaction. The neutron yield is up to 10(9) and its pulse duration is as short as 20 ps. This scheme could be realized in laboratories with current hundreds-of-terawatt or multi-petawatt laser facilities.
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关键词
pulsed neutron source, laser ion acceleration, hybrid simulations
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