Plasma channels for intense ion beam transport: Theory

Current-carrying plastna channels have been proposed for transporting intense ion beams from the diodes to the central target region in reactors. At the gas pressures required for reasonable beam collisional energy loss (10–20 torr argon), the Lorentz force produced by the channel current can prevent the expansion and density reduction required for efficient beam propagation. A two-stage current pulse is shewn to provide a way for meeting both the channel current and density requirements.