OPTIMIZED VOLUMETRIC NEGATIVE HYDROGEN ION SOURCE

THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR JAYCOR TO DEVELOP AN UNIQUE MICROWAVE-DRIVEN VOLUMETRIC NEGATIVE HYDROGEN ION SOURCE AS CONCEIVED BY JAYCOR SCIENTISTS FOR THE SDIO. THIS SOURCE OFFERS THE PROMISE OF ENHANCED BEAM CURRENT DENSITY AND LOW BEAM DIVERGENCE. THE ENHANCEMENT IS ACCOMPLISHED UNDER NONEQUILIBRIUM CONDITIONS BY CONTROLLING THE ENERGY DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELECTRONS WITHIN THE SOURCE PLASMA THROUGH ELECRON CYCLOTRON HEATING (ECH) WHILE MAINTAINING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRONS BY A SPECIAL CONFIGURATION OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD IN THE SOURCE REGION. THE PHASE I WORK INCLUDES THE ANALYTICAL DETERMINATION OF THE OPTIMAL SOURCE PLASMA PARAMETERS FOR MAXIMIZING THE NEGATIVE ION PRODUCTION RATE. ALSO, A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE PHASE II TEST FACILITY WILL BE PERFORMED. THE TECHNIQUE WE PROPOSE, USING NONEQUILIBRIUM ELECTRON ENERGY DISTRIBUTION, OFFERS THE ADVANTAGES OF CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTIONAL GEOMETRY, POWER-EFFICIENT PLASMA FORMATION WITHOUT ELECTRON-EMITTING HOT FILAMENTS IN THE DISCHARGE, AND INCREASED RELIABILITY AND STRUCTURAL SIMPLICITY OF SPACE APPLICATIONS.