Plasma and Fusion Research

Volume 21, 1205048 (2026)

Rapid Communications

Enhancement of Proton Transport in Pyroelectric Crystal Acceleration Using a Novel Negative Target Configuration
Shun INOUE1), Toru TAKAHASHI1), Siyu ZHANG1), Kanato YURI2), Yuxuan XU1), Zhichao ZUO1), Ryosuke KOIZUMI3), Yuto SUZUKI3), Suguru NOZAWA3), Shota MORISHITA3), Toshiki TAKAHASHI1), Masahiko SATO4)
1)
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjin-cho, Kiryu, Gunma 376-8515, Japan
2)
Interfaculty Initiative in Regulatory Science of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjin-cho, Kiryu, Gunma 376-8515, Japan
3)
School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjin-cho, Kiryu, Gunma 376-8515, Japan
4)
National Institute for Fusion Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi-cho, Toki, Gifu 509-5292, Japan
(Received 11 June 2026 / Accepted 24 June 2026 / Published 1 September 2026)

Abstract

In this study, numerical simulations were performed to compare a conventional positive Disk Electrode configuration with a newly proposed Negative Target configuration for proton acceleration. Electrostatic potentials were calculated by solving Laplace’s equation, and proton generation was modeled through hydrogen ionization reactions coupled with charged-particle trajectory calculations. The results showed that no protons reached the target in the conventional Disk Electrode configuration. In contrast, the Negative Target configuration produced substantial proton impacts, with the maximum proton count obtained at crystal temperature changes of 2.5–5 K. Furthermore, the introduction of a positively biased guiding electrode further increased the number of protons reaching the target. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the Negative Target concept for enhancing proton transport.

Keywords

pyroelectric fusion, proton-boron fusion, beam current, elementary processes, numerical analyses

DOI: 10.1585/pfr.21.1205048

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