Efficiency enhancement of thermonuclear DD reaction in femtosecond laser plasma with the use of structured low-average-density targets

• Published in: Quantum electronics (Woodbury, N.Y.) Vol. 50; no. 2; pp. 169 - 174
• Main Authors: Ivanov, K.A., Shulyapov, S.A., Tsymbalov, I.N., Akunets, A.A., Borisenko, N.G., Mordvintsev, I.M., Bozh'ev, I.V., Volkov, R.V., Bochkarev, S.G., Bychenkov, V.Yu, Savel'ev, A.B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol Kvantovaya Elektronika, Turpion Ltd and IOP Publishing 01.02.2020; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; DENSITY; Deuteration; Deuterium; DEUTERIUM IONS; EFFICIENCY; Fast neutrons; Femtosecond pulsed lasers; INTERACTIONS; Laser plasmas; LASERS; NEUTRON FLUX; neutron source; NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; PLASMA; PULSES; relativistic laser plasma; structured target; thermonuclear DD reaction; THREE-DIMENSIONAL LATTICES; WAVELENGTHS
• ISSN: 1063-7818; 1468-4799
• DOI: 10.1070/QEL17149

An increase in the yield of fast neutrons is experimentally demonstrated by exciting a nuclear DD reaction in the interaction of a relativistically intense (over 1018 W cm−2) ultrashort laser pulse with a deuterated low-average-density target volume-structured at the wavelength scale. It is shown that decreasing the average target density from 0.78 to 0.35 g cm−3 doubles the neutron flux, which reaches 7 × 104 particles per 1 J of input energy. The effect may be associated with an increase in the number of accelerated deuterium ions due to the three dimensional expansion of individual elements of the target structure.