title: Efficient neutron production from a novel configuration of deuterium gas-puff z-pinch.
abstract: A novel configuration of a deuterium z pinch has been used to generate fusion neutrons. Injecting an outer hollow cylindrical plasma shell around an inner deuterium gas puff, neutron yields from DD reactions reached Y(n)=(2.9 ± 0.3) × 10(12) at 700 ns implosion time and 2.7 MA current. Such a neutron yield means a tenfold increase in comparison with previous deuterium gas puff experiments at the same current generator. The increase of beam-target yields was obtained by a larger amount of current assembled on the z-pinch axis, and subsequently by higher induced voltage and higher energies of deuterons. A stack of CR-39 track detectors on the z-pinch axis showed hydrogen ions up to 38 MeV. Maximum neutron energies of 15 and 22 MeV were observed by radial and axial time-of-flight detectors, respectively. The number of DD neutrons per one joule of stored plasma energy approached 5 × 10(7). This implies that deuterium gas puff z pinches belong to the most efficient plasma-based sources of DD neutrons.
authors.affiliation: Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technicka 2, 16627 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klir
authors.affiliation: Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technicka 2, 16627 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kubes
authors.affiliation: Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technicka 2, 16627 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rezac
authors.affiliation: Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technicka 2, 16627 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cikhardt
authors.affiliation: Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technicka 2, 16627 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kravarik
authors.affiliation: Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technicka 2, 16627 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sila
authors.affiliation: Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenue, Tomsk 634055, Russia and National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 30 Lenina Avenue, Tomsk 634050, Russia.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Shishlov
authors.affiliation: Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenue, Tomsk 634055, Russia and National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 30 Lenina Avenue, Tomsk 634050, Russia.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Kovalchuk
authors.affiliation: Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenue, Tomsk 634055, Russia and National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 30 Lenina Avenue, Tomsk 634050, Russia.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Ratakhin
authors.affiliation: Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenida, Tomsk, 634055, Russia.
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Kokshenev
authors.affiliation: Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenida, Tomsk, 634055, Russia.
authors.forename: A Yu
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Labetsky
authors.affiliation: Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenida, Tomsk, 634055, Russia.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Cherdizov
authors.affiliation: Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenida, Tomsk, 634055, Russia.
authors.forename: F I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Fursov
authors.affiliation: Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenida, Tomsk, 634055, Russia.
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Kurmaev
authors.affiliation: National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 30 Lenina Avenida, Tomsk, 634050, Russia.
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Dudkin
authors.affiliation: National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 30 Lenina Avenida, Tomsk, 634050, Russia.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Nechaev
authors.affiliation: National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 30 Lenina Avenida, Tomsk, 634050, Russia.
authors.forename: V N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Padalko
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Na Truhlarce 39, 18086 Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Orcikova
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Na Truhlarce 39, 18086 Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Turek