Determination of Energy and Fluences of Protons Collectively Accelerated in a Luce Diode Accelerator

Prompt γ and neutron spectrometry of intense nanosecond ion bunches collectively accelerated in a Luce diode

“…Here we report our recent results on a selective γand ToF spectrometry of neutrons generated by ions collectively accelerated with a Luce diode mode of TEMP-4M accelerator which was mostly described in [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Usually, two types of dielectric anode inserts with a hole diameter of 12 mm were used: polyethylene 8 mm thick and h-BN 2-4 mm thick.…”

“…The ratio of the signals and their absolute values at the instants of time corresponding to the discharge of bunches of collectively accelerated protons onto the target determine the energy and number of protons in these bunches, respectively [4]. The calibration of the instantaneous γ-spectrometer of proton bunches is carried out by the radioactivity 7 Be and 13 N induced in the B4C plates [5]. The use of the γ-spectrometer in combination with a virtual cathode (VC) time-of-flight spectrometer emitting electrons along the normal to the axis of its motion, recorded by VCE1-VCE5 sensors, made it possible to prove that the VC and the main group of ions arrive at the target simultaneously.…”

“…Such a configuration later received the common name "Luce diode", although some workers argue that the configuration was principally similar to the one used by Plyutto [3]. Our approach to studying the model of collective ion acceleration is to use nuclear analysis methods to diagnose ion bunches accelerated by a Luce diode operated in the same configuration of electrodes at moderate voltage values of about 250 kV [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. At such voltages, on the one hand, accelerated ions are already capable of generating nuclear reactions in targets made of light elements, but, on the other hand, it is still possible to selectively excite the required analytical reactions and generate selective signals that can be unambiguously attributed to one or another group of accelerated protons and heavy ions (mainly 12 C ions).…”