Modeling and Control of Penning Ion Source in Neutron Tube

Because the ion source current in the neutron tube lags the storage current, the regulation speed and stability of the ion source current are not high enough, and then the stability of neutron yield is affected. Based on the analysis of a large number of experimental data, the mathematical model of the neutron tube ion source was established, and the corresponding control algorithm was designed in this paper. The test results show that the constructed ion source model agrees well with the condition of actual ion source. The improved control algorithm can reduce the time for stabilizing the ion source current and increase the stability of neutron yield.