Dominant deuteron acceleration with a high-intensity laser for isotope production and neutron generation

Experiments on the interaction of an ultra-short pulse laser with heavy-water, ice-covered copper targets, at an intensity of $2×1019$ W/cm², were performed demonstrating the generation of a “pure” deuteron beam with a divergence of 20°, maximum energy of 8 MeV, and a total of $3×1011$ deuterons with energy above 1 MeV—equivalent to a conversion efficiency of 1.5% ± 0.2%. Subsequent experiments on irradiation of a $B10$ sample with deuterons and neutron generation from d-d reactions in a pitcher-catcher geometry, resulted in the production of $∼106$ atoms of the positron emitter $C11$ and a neutron flux of $(4±1)×105$ neutrons/sterad, respectively.