Planar geometry inertial electrostatic confinement fusion device

Abstract

In the classic gridded inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion reactor, ion bombardment of the grid leads to heating, thermionic electron emission, significant power loss, and ultimately melting of the grid. Gridless IEC devices have sought to overcome these limitations. Klein reported a gridless device in which ions are circulated as a linear beam in an electrostatic analogue of an optical resonator. To overcome limits of stored ions due to space charge effects at the turning regions, the device employed multiple overlapping traps. The work reported here seeks to further increase the turning region space in a gridless trap by employing a planar geometry. Ion trapping in the planar device was examined by simulating trajectories of 2H+ ions with SIMION 8.1 software. Simulations were carried out using multiple potentials as in Klein's device and for a single potential trap as a planar analogue of the anharmonic ion trap. Scattering by background gas was simulated using a hard sphere collision model, and the results suggested the device will require operation at low pressure with a separate ion source.