Search results for "plasma heating"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Plasma diagnostic tools for ECR ion sources : What can we learn from these experiments for the next generation sources
2019
International audience; The order-of-magnitude performance leaps of ECR ion sources over the past decades result from improvements to the magnetic plasma confinement, increases in the microwave heating frequency, and techniques to stabilize the plasma at high densities. Parallel to the technical development of the ion sources themselves, significant effort has been directed into the development of their plasma diagnostic tools. We review the recent results of Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) plasma diagnostics highlighting a number of selected examples of plasma density, electron energy distribution, and ion confinement time measurements, obtained mostly with the second-gener…
Electron–cyclotron–resonance plasma heating with broadband microwave radiation: Anomalous effects
2007
Abstract Affects of microwave bandwidth on the high-charge-states of ion beams extracted from a conventional minimum- B -geometry ECR ion source are first demonstrated. The high-charge-state intensities, produced with broadband microwave radiation are observed to be factors ⩾2 than those produced with narrow bandwidth microwave radiation at the same power level.
Efficient generation of energetic ions in multi-ion plasmas by radio-frequency heating
2017
We describe a new technique for the efficient generation of high-energy ions with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves in multi-ion plasmas. The discussed ‘three-ion’ scenarios are especially suited for strong wave absorption by a very low number of resonant ions. To observe this effect, the plasma composition has to be properly adjusted, as prescribed by theory. We demonstrate the potential of the method on the world-largest plasma magnetic confinement device, JET (Joint European Torus, Culham, UK), and the high-magnetic-field tokamak Alcator C-Mod (Cambridge, USA). The obtained results demonstrate efficient acceleration of 3He ions to high energies in dedicated hydrogen–deuterium mixtures.…
Major results from the first plasma campaign of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator
2017
After completing the main construction phase of Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) and successfully commissioning the device, first plasma operation started at the end of 2015. Integral commissioning of plasma start-up and operation using electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) and an extensive set of plasma diagnostics have been completed, allowing initial physics studies during the first operational campaign. Both in helium and hydrogen, plasma breakdown was easily achieved. Gaining experience with plasma vessel conditioning, discharge lengths could be extended gradually. Eventually, discharges lasted up to 6 s, reaching an injected energy of 4 MJ, which is twice the limit originally agreed for t…
Influence of axial mirror ratios on the kinetic instability threshold in electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasma
2022
International audience; Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion source plasmas are prone to kinetic instabilities. The onset of the instabilities manifests as emission of microwaves, bursts of electrons expelled from the plasma volume, and the collapse of the extracted highly charged ion (HCI) currents. Consequently, the instabilities limit the HCI performance of ECR ion sources by limiting the parameter space available for ion source optimization. Previous studies have shown that the transition from stable to unstable plasma regime is strongly influenced by the magnetic field structure, especially the minimum field value inside the magnetic trap (Bmin). This work focuses to study the role o…
Quasi-periodical kinetic instabilities in minimum-B confined plasma
2022
We present the results of an experimental investigation of quasi-periodical kinetic instabilities exhibited by magnetically confined electron cyclotron resonance heated plasmas. The instabilities were detected by measuring plasma microwave emission, electron losses, and wall bremsstrahlung. The instabilities were found to be grouped into fast sequences of periodic plasma losses, separated by ∼100 µs between the bursts, followed by 1–10 ms quiescent periods before the next event. Increasing the plasma energy content by adjusting the plasma heating parameters, in particular the magnetic field strength, makes the instabilities more chaotic in the time domain. Statistical analysis reveals that …
Powerful neutron generators based on high current ECR ion sources with gyrotron plasma heating
2017
This article has no abstract. peerReviewed
Temporal evolution of neoclassical tearing modes in the frequently interrupted regime
2010
A phenomenological method for description of temporal evolution of neoclassical tearing modes in the frequently interrupted regime (FIR) is proposed. The method makes it possible to predict the beginning and the end of the FIR regime as well as the frequency of the FIR drops. A few experimental parameters which are used in the model are commonly measured quantities. Several specific ASDEX Upgrade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASDEX_Upgrade) FIR discharges with different heating and different FIR behavior are analyzed in detail.
Modelling of JET hybrid plasmas with emphasis on performance of combined ICRF and NBI heating
2018
International audience; During the 2015--2016 JET campaigns, many efforts have been devoted to the exploration of high-performance plasma scenarios envisaged for DT operation in JET. In this paper, we review various key recent hybrid discharges and model the combined ICRF NBI heating. These deuterium discharges with deuterium beams had the ICRF antenna frequency tuned to match the cyclotron frequency of minority H at the centre of the tokamak coinciding with the second harmonic cyclotron resonance of D. The modelling takes into account the synergy between ICRF and NBI heating through the second harmonic cyclotron resonance of D beam ions, allowing us to assess its impact on the neutron rate…