Evidence for MeV-particle emission from Ti charged with low-energy deuterium ions. Final report

Thin titanium films have been bombarded with low energy (350 eV) deuterium ions at high current density (0.2-0.4 mA.cm2) to investigate the reported occurrence of nuclear reactions at ambient temperatures in deuterium charged metals. A silicon charged particle detector was used to search for charged particles produced by such reactions. Evidence is reported for the detection of hydrogen isotopes with 5 MeV energy at a rate of 10-16 events/deuteron pair/s. Low energy deuterium (350 eV) ions produced by an ECR microwave source impinge normally on a thin metal film in vacuum, while a Si particle detector placed directly behind the film detects particle emission. The advantages of this method are rapid and efficient deuterium charging of any material (including insulators), high particle detection efficiency and sensitivity (low background), and the ability to measure the particle energy and determine the particle type. Titanium was chosen as the target because previous work by Jones had shown neutron emission and because Ti retains more hydrogen near room temperature than does PD.