THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY OF SPACE-CHARGE IN INTENSE ION-BEAMS

The highly collimated beams of energetic neutral atoms used in controlled thermonuclear fusion research (CTR) require the virtual elimination of space-charge forces in the primary ion beam in order to minimize the angular divergence. A model is presented which describes the behavior of an intense ion beam passing through a gas cell. This theory is used to derive the space-charge field produced by such a beam and shows how its effect can be minimized. This model agrees well with experimental measurements and enables emittance-dominated beams of very high brightness to be obtained which could find applications in fields other than CTR. © 1979 The American Physical Society.