Boron-Proton Nuclear-Fusion Enhancement Induced in Boron-Doped Silicon Targets by Low-Contrast Pulsed Laser

We show that a spatially well-defined layer of boron dopants in a hydrogen-enriched silicon target allows the production of a high yield of alpha particles of around 109 per steradian using a nanosecond, low-contrast laser pulse with a nominal intensity of approximately 3×1016Wcm−2 . This result can...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. X 2014-08, Vol.4 (3), p.031030, Article 031030
Main Authors: Picciotto, A., Margarone, D., Velyhan, A., Bellutti, P., Krasa, J., Szydlowsky, A., Bertuccio, G., Shi, Y., Mangione, A., Prokupek, J., Malinowska, A., Krousky, E., Ullschmied, J., Laska, L., Kucharik, M., Korn, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alpha particles
Alpha rays
Boron
Dopants
Expanding plasmas
Ion accelerators
Ion energy distribution
Lasers
Luminosity
Neutron flux
Nuclear fusion
Particle accelerators
Particle physics
Pulsed lasers
Radioactivity
Silicon
Silicon carbide
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Summary:We show that a spatially well-defined layer of boron dopants in a hydrogen-enriched silicon target allows the production of a high yield of alpha particles of around 109 per steradian using a nanosecond, low-contrast laser pulse with a nominal intensity of approximately 3×1016Wcm−2 . This result can be ascribed to the nature of the long laser-pulse interaction with the target and with the expanding plasma, as well as to the optimal target geometry and composition. The possibility of an impact on future applications such as nuclear fusion without production of neutron-induced radioactivity and compact ion accelerators is anticipated.
ISSN:2160-3308
2160-3308
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevX.4.031030