Proton-boron fusion in a compact scheme of plasma oscillatory confinement

Abstract

We present the results of experiments on the aneutronic fusion of proton-boron (pB) in a single miniature device with electrodynamic (oscillatory) plasma confinement. The device is based on a low energy (∼1-2 J) nanosecond vacuum discharge with a virtual cathode, the field of which accelerates protons and boron ions to the energies required for pB synthesis (∼100-300 keV) under oscillating ions' head-on collisions. The yields of α particles registered for different conditions of the experiment are presented and discussed in detail. The experiment was preceded by particle-in-cell modeling of main processes accompanying pB reaction within the framework of the full electromagnetic code karat. The summary yield of α particles of about 5×10^{4}/4π was obtained during the pulse-periodic operation of the generator within total 4μs of the high voltage applied, which is ∼10α particles/ns.