Speaker
Valentina Scuderi
Description
See the full Abstract at http://ocs.ciemat.es/EPS2018ABS/pdf/P1.2025.pdf
High alpha particle yield in laser induced p-B fusion reaction
V. Scuderi1,2, G. Milluzzo2,3, G. Petringa2, L. Giuffrida1, A. Velhyan1, A. Picciotto4, C.
Verona5, R. Leanza2, F. Schillaci1, J. Dostal6, J. Krasa6, G. Cuttone2, G. Korn1, D.
Margarone1 and G.A.P. Cirrone2
1 Institute of Physics ASCR, v.v.i (FZU), ELI-Beamlines project, Prague, Czech Republic
Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, INFN, Catania, Italy
2
3 School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
4 Micro-Nano Facility, Center for Materials and Microsystems, Fondazione Bruno Kessler,
Trento, Italy
5 Dipartimento di Ing. meccanica Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
6 Czech Technical University in Prague, FNSPE, Prague, Czech Republic
6 Institute of Plasma Physics of the ASCR, PALS Laboratory, Prague, Czech Republic
Laser-induced nuclear fusion reactions are nowadays widely investigated as an alternative
approach for the production of fusion energy, which could potentially have a high societal
impact. In particular, the proton–boron nuclear fusion reaction leading to the production of
energetic alpha particles without neutron generation can be beneficial in several application
in nuclear physics, as for building “ultraclean” nuclear-fusion reactor [1], and also in
Medical Physics (for cancer treatments [2, 3]). Latest results obtained using a nanosecond,
16 −2
low-contrast laser pulse with a relatively low intensity (3 × 10 W cm ) and advanced
boron-doped hydrogen-enriched silicon targets allowed the production of a high yield of
9
alpha particles of around 10 per steradian[4,5].
In this contribution, results from a recent experimental campaign performed at PALS laser
laboratory in Prague will be presented. The main goal of the present experiment was to
maximize the alpha particle yield from the proton-boron nuclear reaction (11B + p → 3α +
8.7 MeV) induced using thin multilayer SiHB targets thus validating and improving the
surprising results achieved in our previous campaign [4,5]. Furthermore, since the complex
geometry of the SiHB targets is expected to increase the efficiency of the pB nuclear
reaction and produce a high brilliance alpha particle source propagating forward and
backward with respect to the target normal direction, alpha particle angular distributions
have been also measured for different target structures.
Thomson Parabola spectrometers, TOF-based diagnostics using diamond and silicon
carbide (SiC) detector array and nuclear track detectors (CR39 type), placed at different
angles, allowed to study proton acceleration and alpha-particle emission in terms of energy
and flux.
Results show a strong enhancement of the alpha particle yield leading to about 1011 alpha
particle/sr measured for the different target geometries.
[1] H. Hora et al. Energy & Environmental Science, 3, 479 (2010)
[2] L. Giuffrida et al. AIP Advances, 6, 105204 (2016)
[3] G. A. P. Cirrone et al., Scientific Reports Vol. 8, 1141 (2018)
[4] A. Picciotto et al., Phys. Rev. X, 4, 031030 (2014).
[5] D. Margarone et al. Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 57 (2015) 014030
