Orientation effect in the neutron yield in deuterated Pd target bombarded by deuterium ion beam

Abstract

At the ion accelerator HELIS at the LPI, the neutron yield is investigated from a deuteron-deuteron (DD) reaction in a deuterated Pd target, during an irradiation of its surface by a 20 keV deuterium (D) ion beam. The measurements of the neutron flux in the D beam direction are performed in dependence on the target angle β with respect to the D beam axis using a multichannel detector based on He^{3} counters. A significant anisotropy in the neutron yield is observed, and it was higher by a factor of 2 at β=0 compared to that at β=±30°. The possible reasons for the anisotropy, including D ion channeling, are discussed. The orientation effect of increasing the relative probability of the DD reaction in Pd due to channeling was investigated by computer simulations using the bcm-2.0 code. The numerically obtained 20 keV D trajectories allow calculating the flux density of channeled D in dependence on the penetration depth and angle of incidence. The enhanced D flux density between crystal planes at a zero incident angle with respect to (200) Pd planes allows a qualitative explanation of the increase of the neutron yield in the DD reaction.