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Dense plasma focus

A dense plasma focus (DPF) is a type of plasma generating system originally developed as a fusion power
device starting in the early 1960s. The system demonstrated scaling laws that suggested it would not be
useful in the commercial power role, and since the 1980s it has been used primarily as a fusion teaching
system, and as a source of neutrons and X-rays.

The original concept was developed in 1954 by N.V. Filippov, who noticed the effect while working on early
pinch machines in the USSR.[1] A major research program on DPF was carried out in the USSR through the
late 1950s, and continues to this day. A different version of the same basic concept was independently
discovered in the US by J.W. Mather in the early 1960s. This version saw some development in the 1970s,
and variations continue to be developed.

The basic design derives from the z-pinch concept. Both the DPF and pinch use large electrical currents run
through a gas to cause it to ionize into a plasma and then pinch down on itself to increase the density and
temperature of the plasma. The DPF differs largely in form; most devices use two concentric cylinders and
form the pinch at the end of the central cylinder. In contrast, z-pinch systems generally use a single cylinder,
sometimes a torus, and pinch the plasma into the center.

The plasma focus is similar to the high-intensity plasma gun device (HIPGD) (or just plasma gun), which
ejects plasma in the form of a plasmoid, without pinching it. A comprehensive review of the dense plasma
focus and its diverse applications has been made by Krishnan in 2012.[2]

Contents
Pinch concept
DPF concept
Applications
Characteristics
Design parameters
Current research
Fusion power
Lawrenceville Plasma Physics
See also
History
Notes
External links

Pinch concept
Pinch-based devices are the earliest systems to be seriously developed for fusion research, starting with very
small machines built in London in 1948. These normally took one of two forms; linear pinch machines are
straight tubes with electrodes at both ends to apply the current into the plasma, whereas toroidal pinch
machines are donut-shaped machines with large magnets wrapped around them that supply the current via
magnetic induction.

In both types of machines, a large burst of current is applied to a dilute gas inside the tube. This current
initially ionizes the gas into a plasma. Once the ionization is complete, which occurs in microseconds, the
plasma begins to conduct a current. Due to the Lorentz force, this current creates a magnetic field that
causes the plasma to "pinch" itself down into a filament, similar to a lightning bolt. This process increases
the density of the plasma very rapidly, causing its temperature to increase.

Early devices quickly demonstrated a problem with the stability of this process. As the current began to flow
in the plasma, magnetic effects known as the "sausage" and "kink" appeared that caused the plasma to
become unstable and eventually hit the sides of the container. When this occurred, the hot plasma would
cause atoms of the metal or glass to spall off and enter the fuel, rapidly cooling the plasma. Unless the
plasma could be made stable, this loss process would make fusion impossible.

In the mid-1950s, two possible solutions appeared. In the fast-pinch concept, a linear device would undergo
the pinch so quickly that the plasma as a whole would not move, instead only the outermost layer would
begin to pinch, creating a shock wave that would continue the process after the current was removed. In the
stabilized pinch, new magnetic fields would be added that would mix with the current's field and create a
more stable configuration. In testing, neither of these systems worked, and the pinch route to fusion was
largely abandoned by the early 1960s.

DPF concept
During experiments on a linear pinch machine, Filippov noticed that certain arrangements of the electrodes
and tube would cause the plasma to form into new shapes. This led to the DPF concept.

In a typical DPF machine, there are two cylindrical electrodes. The inner one, often solid, is physically
separated from the outer by an insulating disk at one end of the device. It is left open at the other end. The
end result is something like a coffee mug with a half hot dog standing on its end in the middle of the mug.

When current is applied, it begins to arc at the path of least resistance, at the end near the insulator disk. This
causes the gas in the area to rapidly ionize, and current begins to flow through it to the outer electrode. The
current creates a magnetic field that begins to push the plasma down the tube towards the open end. It
reaches the end in microseconds.

When it reaches the end, it continues moving for a short time, but the endpoints of the current sheet remain
attached to the end of the cylinders. This causes the plasma sheet to bow out into a shape not unlike an
umbrella or the cap of a mushroom.

At this point further movement stops, and the continuing current instead begins to pinch the section near the
central electrode. Eventually this causes the former ring-shaped area to compress down into a vertical post
extending off the end of the inner electrode. In this area the density is greatly increased.

The whole process proceeds at many times the speed of sound in the ambient gas. As the current sheath
continues to move axially, the portion in contact with the anode slides across the face of the anode,
axisymmetrically. When the imploding front of the shock wave coalesces onto the axis, a reflected shock
front emanates from the axis until it meets the driving current sheath which then forms the axisymmetric
boundary of the pinched, or focused, hot plasma column.

The dense plasma column (akin to the Z-pinch) rapidly pinches and undergoes instabilities and breaks up.
The intense electromagnetic radiation and particle bursts, collectively referred to as multi-radiation occur
during the dense plasma and breakup phases. These critical phases last typically tens of nanoseconds for a
small (kJ, 100 kA) focus machine to around a microsecond for a large (MJ, several MA) focus machine.

The process, including axial and radial phases, may last, for the Mather DPF machine, a few microseconds
(for a small focus) to 10 microseconds for a larger focus machine. A Filippov focus machine has a very
short axial phase compared to a Mather focus.

Applications
When operated using deuterium, intense bursts of X-rays and charged particles are emitted, as are nuclear
fusion byproducts including neutrons.[3] There is ongoing research that demonstrates potential applications
as a soft X-ray source[4] for next-generation microelectronics lithography, surface micromachining, pulsed
X-ray and neutron source for medical and security inspection applications and materials modification,[5]
among others.

For nuclear weapons applications, dense plasma focus devices can be used as an external neutron source.[6]
Other applications include simulation of nuclear explosions (for testing of the electronic equipment) and a
short and intense neutron source useful for non-contact discovery or inspection of nuclear materials
(uranium, plutonium).

Characteristics
An important characteristic of the dense plasma focus is that the energy density of the focused plasma is
practically a constant over the whole range of machines,[7] from sub-kilojoule machines to megajoule
machines, when these machines are tuned for optimal operation.[8] This means that a small table-top-sized
plasma focus machine produces essentially the same plasma characteristics (temperature and density) as the
largest plasma focus. Of course the larger machine will produce the larger volume of focused plasma with a
corresponding longer lifetime and more radiation yield.

Even the smallest plasma focus has essentially the same dynamic characteristics as larger machines,
producing the same plasma characteristics and the same radiation products. This is due to the scalability of
plasma phenomena.

See also plasmoid, the self-contained magnetic plasma ball that may be produced by a dense plasma focus.

Design parameters
The fact that the plasma energy density is constant throughout the range of plasma focus devices, from big
to small, is related to the value of a design parameter that needs to be kept at a certain value if the plasma
focus is to operate efficiently.

The critical 'speed' design parameter for neutron-producing devices is , where is the current, is the

anode radius, and is the gas density or pressure.[7]

For example, for neutron-optimised operation in deuterium the value of this critical parameter,
experimentally observed over a range of machines from kilojoules to hundreds of kilojoules, is:
9 kA/(mm·Torr0.5), or 780 kA/(m·Pa0.5), with a remarkably small deviation of 10% over such a large range
of sizes of machines.
Thus if we have a peak current of 180 kA we require an anode radius of 10 mm with a deuterium fill
pressure of 4 Torr (530 Pa). The length of the anode has then to be matched to the risetime of the capacitor
current in order to allow an average axial transit speed of the current sheath of just over 50 mm/μs. Thus a
capacitor risetime of 3 μs requires a matched anode length of 160 mm.

The above example of peak current of 180 kA rising in 3 μs, anode radius and length of respectively 10 and
160 mm are close to the design parameters of the UNU/ICTP PFF (United Nations University/International
Centre for Theoretical Physics Plasma Fusion Facility).[9] This small table-top device was designed as a
low-cost integrated experimental system for training and transfer to initiate/strengthen experimental plasma
research in developing countries.[10]

It can be noted that the square of the drive parameter is a measure of the "plasma energy density".

On the other hand, another proposed, so called "energy density parameter" , where E is the energy
stored in the capacitor bank and a is the anode radius, for neutron-optimised operation in deuterium the
value of this critical parameter, experimentally observed over a range of machines from tens of joules to
hundreds of kilojoules, is in the order of J/m3.[8] For example, for a capacitor bank of 3kJ, the
anode radius is in the order of 12mm. This parameter has a range of 3.6x10^9 to 7.6x10^11 for the machines
surveyed by Soto. The wide range of this parameter is because it is a "storage energy density" which
translates into plasma energy density with different efficiency depending on the widely differing
performance of different machines. Thus to result in the necessary plasma energy density (which is found to
be a near constant for optimized neutron production) requires widely differing initial storage density.

Current research
A network of ten identical DPF machines operates in eight countries around the world. This network
produces research papers on topics including machine optimization & diagnostics (soft x-rays, neutrons,
electron and ion beams), applications (microlithography, micromachining, materials modification and
fabrication, imaging & medical, astrophysical simulation) as well as modeling & computation. The network
was organized by Sing Lee in 1986 and is coordinated by the Asian African Association for Plasma
Training, AAAPT. A simulation package, the Lee Model,[11] has been developed for this network but is
applicable to all plasma focus devices. The code typically produces excellent agreement between computed
and measured results,[12] and is available for downloading as a Universal Plasma Focus Laboratory Facility.
The Institute for Plasma Focus Studies IPFS[13] was founded on 25 February 2008 to promote correct and
innovative use of the Lee Model code and to encourage the application of plasma focus numerical
experiments. IPFS research has already extended numerically-derived neutron scaling laws to multi-
megajoule experiments.[14] These await verification. Numerical experiments with the code have also
resulted in the compilation of a global scaling law indicating that the well-known neutron saturation effect is
better correlated to a scaling deterioration mechanism. This is due to the increasing dominance of the axial
phase dynamic resistance as capacitor bank impedance decreases with increasing bank energy (capacitance).
In principle, the resistive saturation could be overcome by operating the pulse power system at a higher
voltage.

The International Centre for Dense Magnetised Plasmas (ICDMP) in Warsaw Poland, operates several
plasma focus machines for an international research and training programme. Among these machines is one
with energy capacity of 1 MJ making it one of the largest plasma focus devices in the world.

In Argentina there is an Inter-institutional Program for Plasma Focus Research since 1996, coordinated by a
National Laboratory of Dense Magnetized Plasmas (www.pladema.net (http://www.pladema.net)) in Tandil,
Buenos Aires. The Program also cooperates with the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, and networks
the Argentine National Energy Commission, the Scientific Council of Buenos Aires, the University of
Center, the University of Mar del Plata, The University of Rosario, and the Institute of Plasma Physics of the
University of Buenos Aires. The program operates six Plasma Focus Devices, developing applications, in
particular ultra-short tomography and substance detection by neutron pulsed interrogation. PLADEMA also
contributed during the last decade with several mathematical models of Plasma Focus. The thermodynamic
model was able to develop for the first time design maps combining geometrical and operational parameters,
showing that there is always an optimum gun length and charging pressure which maximize the neutron
emission. Currently there is a complete finite-elements code validated against numerous experiments, which
can be used confidently as a design tool for Plasma Focus.

In Chile, at the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission the plasma focus experiments have been extended to
sub-kilojoules devices and the scales rules have been stretched up to region less than one joule [15] [16] [17]
.[18] Their studies have contributes to know that is possible to scale the plasma focus in a wide range of
energies and sizes keeping the same value of ion density, magnetic field, plasma sheath velocity, Alfvén
speed and the quantity of energy per particle. Therefore, fusion reactions are even possible to be obtained in
ultraminiature devices (driven by generators of 0.1J for example), as they are in the bigger devices (driven
by generators of 1MJ). However, the stability of the plasma pinch highly depends on the size and energy of
the device.[8] A rich plasma phenomenology it has been observed in the table-top plasma focus devices
developed at the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission: filamentary structures,[19] toroidal singularities,[20]
plasma bursts [21] and plasma jets generations.[22] In addition, possible applications are explored using these
kind of small plasma devices: development of portable generator as non-radioactive sources of neutrons and
x-rays for field applications,[16][17] pulsed radiation applied to biological studies, plasma focus as neutron
source for nuclear fusion-fission hybrid reactors,[23] and the use of plasma focus devices as plasma
accelerators for studies of materials under intense fusion-relevant pulses.[24] In addition, Chilean Nuclear
Energy Commission currently operates the facility SPEED-2, the largest Plasma Focus facility of the
southern hemisphere.

Since the beginning of 2009, a number of new plasma focus machines have been/are being commissioned
including the INTI Plasma Focus in Malaysia, the NX3 in Singapore, the first plasma focus to be
commissioned in a US university in recent times, the KSU Plasma Focus at Kansas State University which
recorded its first fusion neutron emitting pinch on New Year's Eve 2009 and the IR-MPF-100 plasma focus
(115kJ) in Iran.

Fusion power

Several groups proposed that fusion power based on the DPF could be economically viable, possibly even
with low-neutron fuel cycles like p-B11. The feasibility of net power from p-B11 in the DPF requires that
the bremsstrahlung losses be reduced by quantum mechanical effects induced by an extremely strong
magnetic field "frozen into the plasma". The high magnetic field also results in a high rate of emission of
cyclotron radiation, but at the densities envisioned, where the plasma frequency is larger than the cyclotron
frequency, most of this power will be reabsorbed before being lost from the plasma. Another advantage
claimed is the capability of direct conversion of the energy of the fusion products into electricity, with an
efficiency potentially above 70%.

Lawrenceville Plasma Physics

Experiments and computer simulations to investigate the capability of DPF for fusion power are underway
at Lawrenceville Plasma Physics (LPP) under the direction of Eric Lerner, who explained his "Focus
Fusion" approach in a 2007 Google Tech Talk.[25] On November 14, 2008, Lerner received funding for
continued research, to test the scientific feasibility of Focus Fusion.[26]
On October 15, 2009, the DPF device "Focus Fusion-1" achieved its first pinch.[27] On January 28, 2011,
LPP published initial results including experimental shots with considerably higher fusion yields than the
historical DPF trend.[28] In March, 2012, the company announced that it had achieved temperatures of 1.8
billion degrees, beating the old record of 1.1 billion that had survived since 1978.[29][30] In 2016 the
company announced that it had achieved a fusion yield of 0.25 joules.[31] In 2017 the company reduced
impurities by mass by 3x and ion numbers by 10x. Fusion yield increased by 50%. Fusion yield doubled
compared to other plasma focus devices with the same 60 kJ energy input. In addition, Mean ion energy
increased to a record of 240 ± 20 keV for any confined fusion plasma. A deuterium-nitrogen mix and
corona-discharge pre-ionization reduced the fusion yield standard deviation by 4x to about 15%.[32]

In 2019, the team conducted a series of experiments replacing tungsten electrodes with beryllium electrodes
(termed Focus Fusion 2B). After 44 shots, the electrode formed a much thinner 10 nm oxide layer with
correspondingly fewer impurities and less electrode erosion than with tungsten electrodes. Fusion yield
reached 0.1 joule. Yield generally increased and impurities decreased with an increasing number of
shots.[33]

See also
List of plasma physics articles

History
1958: Петров Д.П., Филиппов Н.В., Филиппова Т.И., Храбров В.А. "Мощный импульсный
газовый разряд в камерах с проводящими стенками". В сб. Физика плазмы и проблемы
управляемых термоядерных реакций. Изд. АН СССР, 1958, т. 4, с. 170–181.
1958: Hannes Alfvén: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Peaceful Uses
of Atomic Energy (United Nations), 31, 3
1960: H Alfven, L Lindberg and P Mitlid, "Experiments with plasma rings (http://www.iop.org/E
J/abstract/0368-3281/1/3/302/)" (1961) Journal of Nuclear Energy. Part C, Plasma Physics,
Accelerators, Thermonuclear Research, Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 116–120
1960: Lindberg, L., E. Witalis and C. T. Jacobsen, "Experiments with plasma rings" (1960)
Nature 185:452.
1961: Hannes Alfvén: Plasma Ring Experiment in "On the Origin of Cosmic Magnetic Fields (ht
tp://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1961ApJ...133.1049A)" (1961) Astrophysical
Journal, vol. 133, p. 1049
1961: Lindberg, L. & Jacobsen, C., "On the Amplification of the Poloidal Magnetic Flux in a
Plasma (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1961ApJ...133.1043L&db_
key=AST&data_type=HTML&format=&high=42ca922c9c03926)" (1961) Astrophysical Journal,
vol. 133, p. 1043
1962: Filippov. N.V., et al., "Dense, High-Temperature Plasma in a Noncylindrical 2-pinch
Compression" (1962) 'Nuclear Fusion Supplement'. Pt. 2, 577
1969: Buckwald, Robert Allen, "Dense Plasma Focus Formation by Disk Symmetry" (1969)
Thesis, Ohio State University.

Notes
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External links
Institute for Plasma Focus Studies (IPFS) (http://www.plasmafocus.net).
Research papers published in 2011 by IPFS staff. [2] (https://web.archive.org/web/201203021
71238/http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/2011papers/0%202011%20Papers.htm)
The Plasma Focus-Trending into the Future([3] (https://web.archive.org/web/20160113012445/
http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/2011papers/PFtrendingintotheFuture%20.DOC))
Dimensions and Lifetime of the Plasma Focus ([4] (http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/otherpap
ers/DimLifePF96.pdf))
Plasma Radiation Source Lab at the National Institute of Education in Singapore (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20071022152326/http://ckplee.myplace.nie.edu.sg/plasmaphysics/)
Plasma Focus Laboratory, International Centre for Dense Magnetised Plasmas, Warsaw,
Poland (https://web.archive.org/web/20060528063104/http://www.icdmp.pl/pf1000.html)
Optics and Plasma Physics Group, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (http://www.fis.puc.
cl/~plasma/)
Paper by Leopoldo Soto (Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, Thermonucluar Plasma
Department (https://web.archive.org/web/20070606214431/http://www.cchen.cl/index.php?opti
on=com_content&task=category&sectionid=11&id=111&Itemid=71)): New trends and future
perspectives on plasma focus research (http://stacks.iop.org/PPCF/47/A361)
Focus Fusion Society (http://www.focusfusion.org/)
Abdus Salam ICTP Plasma Focus Laboratory. [5] (https://web.archive.org/web/200806021404
29/http://mlab.ictp.it/plasma/pfd.html)
Numerical Simulation Package: Universal Plasma Focus Laboratory Facility at INTI-UC. [6] (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20081028222802/http://www.intimal.edu.my/school/fas/UFLF/)
Dense Plasma Focus Network in Argentina (http://www.pladema.net).
Research papers published in 2011 by IPFS staff. [7] (https://web.archive.org/web/201203021
71238/http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/2011papers/0%202011%20Papers.htm)
Fusion Energy Site with links (http://www.fusionenergy.net.au).
Google talk by Eric J. Lerner, President of Lawrenceville Plasma Physics and Executive
Director of the Focus Fusion Society (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-15180072794
79871760&emb=1&hl=en)

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