Thermal field induced by intense pulsed ion beam and its possible application in thermal diffusivity measurement

As a type of flash heating source, intense pulsed ion beam (IPIB) can induce strong thermal effect in the near-surface region of the target. Compared with laser, the energy deposition efficiency of IPIB is significantly higher and is less dependent on the optical properties of the target. The range of ions in matter can be changed more flexibly by adjusting the accelerating voltage. This makes IPIB an ideal candidate for pulsed heating source of the flash method for the measurement of thermal diffusivity of materials. In present work, numerical verification of flash method with IPIB generated by magnetically insulated diode (MID) was carried out. By exploring the features of the induced thermal field, it is demonstrated that IPIB composed of protons and carbon ions with energy of several hundred keV and cross-sectional energy density of several J/cm2 can be used for the measurement of thermal diffusivity with flash method, and the principles of optimization in experimental parameters are discussed.