Society of Physics Students

This report summarizes progress on the development of a neutron source from an existing commercial product. The targeted tabletop device uses a pyroelectric crystal to create an electric field that accelerates deuterium ions towards a deuterated target to produce neutrons via fusion. A pyroelectric X-ray generator was characterized and its performance successfully compared with the manufacturer's specifications. A second special "opened " device was obtained from the vendor. A vacuum chamber in which to operate this device in a partial vacuum (and then later with deuterated gas) has been designed and is currently being fabricated. The project will continue next semester with the completed vacuum chamber and the conversion of the pyroelectric X-ray generator to a pyrofusion neutron generator. The neutrons will be characterized and used to further study particle interactions by Indiana University undergraduate students. Review of Project Pyroelectricity is the ability of certain materials to generate an electrical potential when they are heated or cooled. A research paper [1] was published in Nature in mid-2005 about an experiment that used a pyroelectric crystal to achieve nuclear fusion. Pyroelectric fusion is the process by which a pyroelectric crystal in a vacuum is cooled down and then slowly heated. Du