A Fast Faraday Cup for Measuring Neutralized Drift Compression

POSTER

Abstract

Heavy ion drivers for high energy density physics applications and inertial fusion energy use space-charge-dominated beams which require longitudinal bunch compression in order to achieve sufficiently high beam intensity at the target. The Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-1A (NDCX-1A) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is used to determine the physics limits for neutralized drift compression. NDCX-1A investigates the physics of longitudinal focusing of an intense ion beam, achieved by imposing an initial velocity tilt on the drifting beam and neutralizing the beam's space-charge with background plasma. Accurately measuring the longitudinal compression of the beam pulse with high resolution is critical for NDCX-1A. The design and preliminary experimental results for a fast Faraday cup which measures the total beam current at the focal plane as a function of time are summarized.

*Research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy

Authors

  • Adam Sefkow

  • Ronald Davidson

  • Phillip Efthimion

  • Erik Gilson

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Simon Yu

  • Prabir Roy

  • Shmuel Eylon

  • Frank Bieniosek

  • Enrique Henestroza

  • Joshua Coleman

  • William Waldron

  • Wayne Greenway

  • David Vanecek

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Dale Welch

    • ATK-Mission Research