Fast Neutral Generation by Charge Exchange Reaction and Its Effect on Neutron Production Rate in Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion Systems

Fast neutral generation by charge exchange reaction in inertial electrostatic confinement plasmas is studied by solving the Poisson equation and the Boltzmann equation for fast neutrals. Fusion reactions carried by the charge exchange fast neutrals become appreciable compared with ion-background fusion reaction. It is shown that the fusion reaction between fast neutral and background gas is sensitively affected by experimental parameters (grid voltage, background gas pressure) and ion distribution function.