1. A Desktop Particle Accelerator Employing a Pyroelectric Crystal Jon Kalodimos, Kansas State University Dr. Rand Watson, Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute

2. What is a Pyroelectric Crystal? Lithium Tantalate (LiTaO 3 ) is a type of crystal that has pyroelectric properties, meaning that when it is heated a large electrostatic field is produced on the face of the crystal. Lithium Tantalate also has piezoelectric properties meaning that that mechanical compressions will also produce an electrostatic field.

3. How is the field produced? Picture Courtesy: APC International Ltd.

4. Physics of Pyroelectricity Picture Courtesy: Brownridge

5. End Result of Crystal Rearrangement The crystalline rearrangement has the effect of creating two charged surfaces. Even though there is two charged surfaces, the charge is a bound.

6. Recent Innovative uses of Pyroelectric Crystals Recently it has been reported by Naranjo, Gimzewski & Putterman at UCLA that pyroelectric crystals have been employed to create D +D fusion under desktop conditions.

7. REU Experiment Objectives Optimize the conditions for particle acceleration Verify the results of the D+D fusion experiments mentioned above Assess the possibility of extending this method to other nuclear reactions

8. Methodology Determine and optimize beam geometry Determine the ion energy via the corresponding electron’s Bremsstrahlung radiation Determine whether D +D fusion is taking place by measuring fast neutrons using a liquid scintillation detector

9. Experimental Geometry

13. Beam Profile Intensity on the order of a nA

15. X-Ray Production Rates with Respect to Heating and Cooling Cycles

16. Typical Energy Spectra on Heating and Cooling

17. Variables Gas Pressure Heating Rate (dT/dt) ΔTemperature Time between runs

18. Is D + D fusion possible? Picture Courtesy: Uppsala Universitet

19. Is D + D fusion possible? Lithium Tantalate, the crystal utilized in this experiment, is capable of creating ~100+ KV potentials if heated quickly. The cross section for D +D fusion has approached its asymptotic limit ~100 KeV, adding energy doesn’t significantly change the cross section.

20. Two Possible D + D Nuclear Reactions D +D  3 He (820 KeV) + n (2.45 MeV) D + D  T (1.01 MeV) + p (3.02 MeV)

21. Picture Courtesy: Naranjo

22. Acknowledgements National Science Foundation Dept. of Energy Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute Dr. Rand Watson