MEMS RF Accelerators For Nuclear Energy and Advanced Manufacturing

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Program:
OPEN 2018
Award:
$4,872,671
Location:
Berkeley, California
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
02/21/2019 - 02/20/2024
Website:

Technology Description:

LBNL will use advanced microfabrication technology to build and scale low-cost, compact, higher-power multi-beam ion accelerators. These accelerators will be able to increase the ion current up to 100 times, helping to enable a new learning curve for compact accelerator technology. MEMS (micro-electro mechanical systems) technology enables massively parallel, low-cost batch fabrication of ion beam accelerators. The team proposes to scale ion accelerators based on MEMS to higher beam power and pack hundreds to thousands of ion beamlets on silicon wafers. Ions will be injected and accelerated across the gaps formed in stacks of wafers, leading to high-current densities for ion accelerators. MEMS-based batch fabrication will reduce the size, weight, power and cost of ion accelerators more than tenfold, enabling low-cost, rapid testing and development of radiation-hard materials for advanced nuclear energy and new applications in manufacturing.

Potential Impact:

The concept could potentially positively improve the energy efficiency of many economic sectors including rapid radiation-damage and neutron-damage studies for advanced fission, advancing surface hardening techniques, integration of high-Tc superconducting cables for power transmission, semiconductor doping, and more.

Security:

Improving energy efficiency in rapid radiation-damage and neutron-damage studies for advanced fission, advancing surface-hardening techniques, material doping, etc., will help maintain the U.S.’s technological lead in these areas.

Environment:

The technology will enable transformative new approaches to generate clean electricity through nuclear fission and fusion.

Economy:

Low-cost, flexible, and scalable ion accelerators could enable the rapid development of advanced nuclear energy materials and new applications in manufacturing.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Robert Ledoux
Project Contact:
Dr. Thomas Schenkel
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
T_Schenkel@lbl.gov

Partners

Cornell University

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Release Date:
12/13/2017