Fully Kinetic Modeling of Dense Plasma Foci From Kilo- to Mega-Amp Devices

Dense plasma focus (DPF) devices use co-axial electrodes to drive kA to MA of current through a Z-pinch plasma implosion. As the plasma implodes, kinetic instabilities [1] in the pinch create MV/cm electric fields that accelerate particles to high-energy (>100 keV). By using deuterium or tritium as a fill gas, a short (few ns), high-intensity neutron source is generated. The goal of our group a LLNL is to simulate and understand the core physics of these devices so that we can optimize them for a variety of applications. For instance, some devices are constrained based on their size and power usage, e.g., to fit into an oil-logging well, while still producing a sizeable neutron yield. Other devices must to be optimized to produce the highest possible neutron yield (up to 10 14 per pulse) when power constraints are of little concern. In order to meet such requirements, we investigate a variety of techniques using high-fidelity simulations with the kinetic code LSP: – Shaping the interior anode in a way to promote instability growth and reduce asymmetries. – Adding a periodic gas jet to increase the neutron yield and reliability of ion acceleration. – Increasing the density of the fill gas to produce a higherdensity pinch, thus creating a better “target” for the accelerated ions. – Reversing the electrode polarity to investigate its role in electric field generation and subsequent ion generation.