Advanced fuel fusion experimentation with migmacells II and III — Orbit diagnostics and lifetime measurements

Abstract Using both destructive and nondestructive diagnostic techniques, the number of stored ions, the distribution of ions among single particle orbits, the confinement times for stored particles and the fraction of molecular D 2 + ions dissociated during the first passage through the migmacell are determined. Results from Migmacell II experiments show lifetimes of 10 ms for 10 9 stored deuterons at a background pressure or 4×10 − torr air. Migmacell III experiments to date have demonstrated confinement times of 2 s in an unbaked ultra-high vacuum system. The number of stored particles observed to date is in excess of 10 10 . Migmacell III particle distributions are strongly peaked at the center of the cell, indicating a significant amount of beam-migma dissociation.