Compact Liquid Lithium Neutron Source (COLLINS)

High energy neutrons (~14.1 MeV) are of interest in both fusion and industrial applications. Typically, these neutrons are generated through beam-target fusion with the use of tritium. Unfortunately, tritium is radioactive and strictly controlled, making it quite expensive to handle. The Compact Liquid Lithium Neutron Source (COLLINS) device at the Center for Plasma-Material Interactions (CPMI) aims to examine the production of these high energy neutrons through the D-Li7 reaction. A compact, floating source ion beam accelerates the deuterium and focuses it on a self-contained, flowing liquid lithium target. The flow is self-driven via thermo-electric magnetohydrodynamics (TEMHD) through the use of permanent magnets and the heat flux from the ion beam. This experiment aims to investigate the neutron output and energy spectrum as well as the heat flux handling of this target.