Patent · US Expired

Plasma focus high energy photon source with blast shield

US6452199B1 · kind B1 · utility

76Cited by
16References
39Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 18, 1999
Grant dateSep 17, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 18, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH05G2/0094
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A high energy photon source. A pair of plasma pinch electrodes are located in a vacuum chamber. The chamber contains a working gas which includes a noble buffer gas and an active gas chosen to provide a desired spectral line. A pulse power source provides electrical pulses at voltages high enough to create electrical discharges between the electrodes to produce very high temperature, high density plasma pinches in the working gas providing radiation at the spectral line of the active gas. A blast shield positioned just beyond the location of the high density pinch provides a physical barrier which confines the pinch limiting its axial elongation. A small port is provided in the blast shield that permits the radiation but not the plasma to pass through the shield. In a preferred embodiment a surface of the shield facing the plasma is dome-shaped.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.