Diagnostic System Development for D-D and D-³He Reaction Distributions in an Inertial-Electrostatic Confinement Device by Collimated Proton Measurements

Abstract

A diagnostic method for spatial distributions of D-D and D-³He fusion reactions has been developed. Refinement of collimation geometry and choice of a detector and a shielding foil resulted in a drastic improvement of signal separation from noise in collimated proton counting. The developed method was then applied and revealed proton yield distributions in an inertial-electrostatic confinement device running with a D₂-³He mixture fuel gas. The result showed localized D-³He reactions on cathode gird surfaces. It also indicated considerable fractions of D-D reactions on anode grid and chamber wall surfaces as well as the cathode grid.