Enhancement of Voltage, Ion current and Neutron Yield in Pyroelectric Accelerators

Abstract

Utilization of current pyroelectric accelerators (PEA) is limited due to low ion current and neutron generation yields. Current design, using pyroelectrics (PE) with high pyrocoefficient (p), having high dielectric constant (e), limits the figure-of-merit. We present detailed analysis of a modified structure of PEA, providing the highest attainable voltage and ion current. In the paired configuration, using metal plates covering the polar faces, with grounded back plates, the accelerating voltage and electric field are proportional to p and do not depend on e. Therefore, in the modified structure, PE with high p significantly increases the ion and neutron yields.