Understanding neutron production in the deuterium dense plasma focus

The deuterium Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) can produce copious amounts of MeV neutrons and can be used as an efficient neutron source. However, the mechanism by which neutrons are produced within the DPF is poorly understood and this limits our ability to optimize the device. In this paper we present results from a computational study aimed at understanding how neutron production occurs in DPFs with a current between 70 kA and 500 kA and which parameters can affect it. A combination of MHD and kinetic tools are used to model the different stages of the DPF implosion. It is shown that the anode shape can significantly affect the structure of the imploding plasma and that instabilities in the implosion lead to the generation of large electric fields at stagnation. These electric fields can accelerate deuterium ions within the stagnating plasma to large (>100 keV) energies leading to reactions with ions in the cold dense plasma. It is shown that the electromagnetic fields present can significantly affect the trajectories of the accelerated ions and the resulting neutron production.