Initial Results on Neutralized Drift Compression Experiments (NDCX-IA) for High Intensity Ion Beam

Ion beam neutralization and compression experiments are designed to determine the feasibility of using compressed high intensity ion beams for high energy density physics (HEDP) experiments and for inertial fusion power. To quantitatively ascertain the various mechanisms and methods for beam compression, the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX) facility is being constructed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In the first neutralized drift compression experiment, a 280 KeV, 25 mA, K
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ion beam is longitudinally 50-fold compressed using an induction core to produce a velocity tilt. This compression ratio is measured using various diagnostics.