L Soto, C Pavéz, J Moreno, A Tarifeño, J … AIP Conf. Proc. — January 21, 2009 — Volume 1088, pp. 219-222
Abstract: A repetitive pinch plasma focus that works with stored energy less than 1 J per shot has been developed at the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission. The main features of this device, repetitive Nanofocus, are 5 nF of capacity, 5 nH of inductance, 5–10 kV charging voltage, 60–250 mJ stored energy, 5–10 kA current peak, per shot. The device has been operated at 20 Hz in hydrogen and deuterium. X-ray radiographs of materials of different thickness were obtained. Neutrons were detected using a system based upon 3He proportional counter in chare integrated mode. In addition, a device with a stored energy of a few joules is being explored. A preliminary compact, low weight (3 kg), portable PF device (25 cm×5 cm×5 cm) for field applications has been designed. This device was designed to operate with few kilovolts (10 kV or less) with a stored energy of 2 J and a repetition rate of 10 Hz without cooling. A neutron flux of the order of 104–105 n/s is expected.
Professor L. Soto and colleagues have developed the world’s smallest DPF, with less than 1 J of stored energy and 10kA peak current, this device, which can be carried in the hand as a neutron source can be pulses at 20 Hz and is expected to produce 10,000-100,000 neutrons per second.
.
