Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relate to an electrode standoff isolator. An example electrode standoff isolator includes a plurality of adjacent insulative segments positioned between a proximal end and a distal end of the electrode standoff isolator. A geometry of the adjacent insulative is configured to guard a surface area of the electrode standoff isolator against deposition of a conductive layer of gaseous phase materials from a filament of an ion source.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relate to an ion beam source system. An ion source is configured to provide a negative ion beam to a tandem accelerator system downstream of the ion source, and a modulator system connected to an extraction electrode of the ion source is configured to bias the extraction electrode for a duration sufficient to maintain acceleration voltage stability of the tandem accelerator system.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relating to a charge exchange system having one or more guard apparatuses are described. The guard apparatuses can include one or more guard electrodes, optionally with one or more screen electrodes. Also described are embodiments of beam systems incorporating one or more charge exchange systems.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relate to a modular diagnostics interface system. An example modular diagnostics interface system includes one or more insertable measurement boards configured to communicably couple with a backplane of a modular measurement rack, and configured to collect a measured current from a component of a beamline.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relate to a beam system. An example beam system includes a charged particle source configured to generate a beam of charged particles, a pre-accelerator system configured to accelerate the beam, and an accelerator configured to accelerate the beam from the pre-accelerator system. The pre-accelerator system can cause the beam to converge as it is propagated from the source to an input aperture of the accelerator. The pre-accelerator system can further reduce or eliminate source disturbance or damage caused by backflow traveling from the accelerator toward the source.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relate to fast beam position monitoring for detecting beam misalignment in a beam line. In an example, a fast beam position monitor includes a plurality of electrodes extending into an interior of a component of a beam line. The fast beam position monitor is configured to detect a position of a beam passing through the component of the beam line based on beam halo current. Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods further relate to noninvasively monitoring parameters of beams advancing along a beam line. In examples, gas is puffed into a pumping chamber along a beam line. One or more beam parameters are measured from fluorescence resulting from collisions of energetic beam particulates of a beam advancing through the beam line.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relating to a beam system. An example method of detecting beam misalignment a beam system includes detecting beam misalignment in an injector system of the beam system. The example method further includes detecting beam misalignment in an accelerator system of the beam system.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relate to initiating beam transport for an accelerator system. An example method includes increasing a bias voltage of one or more electrodes of the accelerator system to a first voltage level and extracting a charged particle beam from a beam source such that the beam is transported through the accelerator system. The beam has a beam current that results in a first transient voltage drop within a threshold. The method further includes increasing the beam current at a rate that results in one or more subsequent transient voltage drops within the threshold until the accelerator system has reached nominal conditions. Another example method includes biasing one or more electrodes of an accelerator system and selectively extracting, according to a duty cycle function, a charged particle beam from a beam source such that the charged particle beam is transported through the accelerator system.

Abstract: Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing neutral beam injection and high harmonic fast wave electron heating.

Abstract: Systems and methods that facilitate the transmutation of long-lived radioactive transuranic waste into short-live radioactive nuclides or stable nuclides using an electrostatic accelerator particle beam to generate neutrons.

Abstract: Systems and methods utilizing successive, axially symmetric acceleration and adiabatic compression stages to heat and accelerate two compact tori towards each other and ultimately collide and compress the compact tori within a central chamber. Alternatively, systems and methods utilizing successive, axially asymmetric acceleration and adiabatic compression stages to heat and accelerate a first compact toroid towards and position within a central chamber and to heat and accelerate a second compact toroid towards the central chamber and ultimately collide and merge the first and second compact toroids and compress the compact merge tori within the central chamber.

Abstract: Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relate to an electrode standoff isolator. An example electrode standoff isolator includes a plurality of adjacent insulative segments positioned between a proximal end and a distal end of the electrode standoff isolator. A geometry of the adjacent insulative is configured to guard a surface area of the electrode standoff isolator against deposition of a conductive layer of gaseous phase materials from a filament of an ion source.

Abstract: Embodiments that are directed to a target for producing a high epithermal neutron yield for boron-neutron capture therapy (BNCT) treatments are disclosed. The target includes a thin flat film of solid lithium mounted onto a heat-removal support structure that is cooled with a liquid coolant and configured to maintain the turbulent flow regime for a liquid coolant and distribute the flow of coolant directed at the center of the support structure toward a periphery of the support structure via a plurality of channels formed in the support structure. The support structure includes a nozzle located at its center to direct coolant flow outwardly from the center to avoid stagnant water flow at the center of the support structure. Systems, device, and methods utilizing the approaches are also described.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided that facilitate stability of an FRC plasma in both radial and axial directions and axial position control of an FRC plasma along the symmetry axis of an FRC plasma chamber. The systems and methods exploit an axially unstable equilibria of the FRC plasma to enforce radial stability, while stabilizing or controlling the axial instability. The systems and methods provide feedback control of the FRC plasma axial position independent of the stability properties of the plasma equilibrium by acting on the voltages applied to a set of external coils concentric with the plasma and using a non-linear control technique.

Abstract: A non-resonance photo-neutralizer for negative ion-based neutral beam injectors. The non-resonance photo-neutralizer utilizes a nonresonant photon accumulation, wherein the path of a photon becomes tangled and trapped in a certain space region, i.e., the photon trap. The trap is preferably formed by two smooth mirror surfaces facing each other with at least one of the mirrors being concave. In its simplest form, the trap is elliptical. A confinement region is a region near a family of normals, which are common to both mirror surfaces. The photons with a sufficiently small angle of deviation from the nearest common normal are confined. Depending on specific conditions, the shape of the mirror surface may be one of spherical, elliptical, cylindrical, or toroidal geometry, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, devices, and methods relating to a beam system. An example beam system includes a charged particle source configured to generate a beam of charged particles, a pre-accelerator system configured to accelerate the beam, and an accelerator configured to accelerate the beam from the pre-accelerator system. The pre-accelerator system can cause the beam to converge as it is propagated from the source to an input aperture of the accelerator. The pre-accelerator system can further reduce or eliminate source disturbance or damage caused by backflow traveling from the accelerator toward the source.

Abstract: Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.

Abstract: A high performance field reversed configuration (FRC) system includes a central confinement vessel, two diametrically opposed reversed-field-theta-pinch formation sections coupled to the vessel, and two divertor chambers coupled to the formation sections. A magnetic system includes quasi-dc coils axially positioned along the FRC system components, quasi-dc mirror coils between the confinement chamber and the formation sections, and mirror plugs between the formation sections and the divertors. The formation sections include modular pulsed power formation systems enabling static and dynamic formation and acceleration of the FRCs. The FRC system further includes neutral atom beam injectors, pellet injectors, gettering systems, axial plasma guns and flux surface biasing electrodes. The beam injectors are preferably angled toward the midplane of the chamber.

Abstract: A negative ion-based beam injector comprising a negative ion source and an accelerator. The ions produced by the ion source are pre-accelerated before injection into a high energy accelerator by an electrostatic multi-aperture grid pre-accelerator, which is used to extract ion beams from the plasma and accelerate to some fraction of the required beam energy. The beam from the ion source passes through a pair of deflecting magnets, which enable the beam to shift off axis before entering the high energy accelerator. The negative ion-based beam injector can be combined with a neutralizer to produce about a 5 MW neutral beam with energy of about 0.50 to 1.0 MeV. After acceleration to full energy, the beam enters the neutralizer where it is partially converted into a neutral beam. The remaining ion species are separated by a magnet and directed into electrostatic energy converters. The neutral beam passes through a gate valve and enters a plasma chamber.