Development of a Cylindrical Neutron Generator using RF-driven Plasma

A compact cylindrical neutron generator using RF (radio-frequency) inductively-coupled plasma has been developed in radially convergent ion beam extraction configuration. Since the RF plasma source has characteristics of high plasma density, low gas pressure, high mono-atomic fraction, and long lifetime, it is known to be suitable for generating high neutron yield with high efficiency. In order to increase neutron yield, the energy and the number of incident particles should be as large as possible. Since the cylindrical source can be operated as a line source configuration the extracted beam current can be increased easily. In this paper, experimental results with the cylindrical neutron generator are given and the operating characteristics of the device are discussed to improve neutron generation efficiency