Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An ion source for generating ultra-short pulses of ions, comprising:a plasma ion generator;an ion extraction system including both a plasma electrode and an extraction electrode;said plasma electrode disposed adjacent plasma produced by said plasma ion generator;said extraction electrode disposed apart from said plasma electrode;each of said plasma electrode and said extraction electrode including at least one aperture there through, said plasma electrode and said extraction electrode aligned with respect to each other so that the apertures are aligned to permit ions to pass out from said plasma ion generator and through the apertures;each aperture having diameters that are greater than a plasma sheath region thickness that is adjacent said plasma electrode, and the diameters being less than permits the plasma sheath region to wrap around the aperture through said plasma electrode to pass both ions and electrons through the aperture when a reverse voltage bias is connected to said extraction electrode to prevent ions from passing through the aperture in said extraction electrode; and,a pulse bias voltage supply connected to said extraction electrode to apply a forward bias voltage pulse having voltage pulse width, polarity and magnitude so a pulse of ions passes through the aperture in said extraction electrode that has a pulse width comparable to the voltage pulse width. 2. The ion source of claim 1 wherein the plasma ion generator is a multicusp plasma ion generator. 3. The ion source of claim 1 wherein the plasma ion generator is a RF driven plasma ion generator. 4. The ion source of claim 3 further comprising:a RF antenna disposed within the plasma ion generator;a matching network connected to the RF antenna; anda RF power supply connected to the matching network. 5. The ion source of claim 1 wherein the extraction system is a multi-aperture extraction system. 6. The ion source of claim 1 wherein the plasma ion generator is a deuterium ion generator or a deuterium and tritium ion generator. 7. The ion source of claim 1 wherein the electrode spacing is about equal to the aperture diameter. 8. A neutron source for generating ultra-short pulses of neutrons, comprising;an ion source of claim 1 for generating ultra-short pulses of ions;a neutron generating target spaced apart from the ion source so that ions extracted from the ion source impinge on the target;an acceleration system between the ion source and target for accelerating the ions to a suitable energy. 9. The neutron source of claim 8 wherein the plasma ion generator is a multicusp plasma ion generator. 10. The neutron source of claim 8 wherein the plasma ion generator is a RF driven plasma ion generator. 11. The neutron source of claim 10 further comprising:a RF antenna disposed within the plasma ion generator;a matching network connected to the RF antenna; anda RF power supply connected to the matching network. 12. The neutron source of claim 8 wherein the extraction system is a multi-aperture extraction system. 13. The neutron source of claim 8 wherein the plasma ion generator is a deuterium ion generator or a deuterium and tritium ion generator. 14. The neutron source of claim 8 wherein the electrode spacing is about equal to the aperture diameter. 15. The neutron source of claim 8 wherein the acceleration system is a system for accelerating the ions to at least about 100 keV.