Analytical study of low energy proton interactions in the SORGENTINA’s fusion ion source-part I: beam-dump

Abstract

An analytical study, corroborated by Monte Carlo simulations, is presented which describes the interaction of a 300? keV–830?mA proton beam with a Cu and Al dumping system. The analytical calculations rely on the theoretical framework of the Particle Induced X-ray Emission, while the Monte Carlo simulations are performed by means of the GEANT4 toolkit. The case study is related to the project SORGENTINA-RF fusion neutron source and in particular to the tests devoted to assess the performance of the ion source of the plant. The results provide a detailed physical insight of the main processes occurring in the beam dump material, and are also important to give some realistic figures of the radiation emission expected during operation.