Development of plasma sources for Dipole Research EXperiment (DREX)

Dipole Research EXperiment(DREX) is a new terrella device as part of the Space Plasma Environment Research Facility(SPERF) for laboratory studies of space physics relevant to the inner magnetospheric plasmas. Adequate plasma sources are very important for DREX to achieve its scientific goals. According to different research requirements, there are two density regimes for DREX. The low density regime will be achieved by an electron cyclotron resonance(ECR) system for the ‘whistler/chorus' wave investigation, while the high density regime will be achieved by biased cold cathode discharge for the desired ‘Alfvén' wave study. The parameters of ‘whistler/chorus' waves and ‘Alfvén' waves are determined by the scaling law between space and laboratory plasmas in the current device. In this paper, the initial design of these two plasma sources for DREX is described. Focus is placed on the chosen frequency and operation mode of the ECR system which will produce relatively low density ‘artificial radiation belt' plasmas and the seed electrons, followed by the design of biased cold cathode discharge to generate plasma with high density.     

Physics of the conceptual design of the ITER plasma control system

The ITER plasma control system (PCS) will play a central role in enabling the experimental program to attempt to sustain DT plasmas with Q = 10 for several hundred seconds and also support research toward the development of steady-state operation in ITER. The PCS is now in the final phase of its conceptual design. The PCS relies on about 45 diagnostic systems to assess real-time plasma conditions and about 20 actuator systems for overall control of ITER plasmas. It will integrate algorithms required for active control of a wide range of plasma parameters with sophisticated event forecasting and handling functions, which will enable appropriate transitions to be implemented, in real-time, in response to plasma evolution or actuator constraints.In specifying the PCS conceptual design, it is essential to define requirements related to all phases of plasma operation, ranging from early (non-active) H/He plasmas through high fusion gain inductive plasmas to fully non-inductive steady-state operation, to ensure that the PCS control functionality and architecture will be capable of satisfying the demands of the ITER research plan. The scope of the control functionality required of the PCS includes plasma equilibrium and density control commonly utilized in existing experiments, control of the plasma heat exhaust, control of a range of MHD instabilities (including mitigation of disruptions), and aspects such as control of the non-inductive current and the current profile required to maintain stable plasmas in steady-state scenarios. Control areas are often strongly coupled and the integrated control of the plasma to reach and sustain high plasma performance must apply multiple control functions simultaneously with a limited number of actuators. A sophisticated shared actuator management system is being designed to prioritize the goals that need to be controlled or weigh the algorithms and actuators in real-time according to dynamic control needs. The underlying architecture will be event-based so that many possible plasma or plant system events or faults could trigger automatic changes in the control algorithms or operational scenario, depending on real-time operating limits and conditions.     

Electrical and optical characteristics of atmospheric helium jet array plasma

In this paper, a honeycomb structure jet array with seven jet units was adopted to generate plasmas. Both the average discharge power and the emission intensity of the main excited species increase with increasing applied voltage. There are three stages of discharge evolution at different applied voltages: initial discharge, uniform discharge and strong coupling discharge.The spatial distribution of the emission intensity of the excited species can be divided into three categories: growth class, weakening class and variation class. The gas temperature along the whole plasma plume at different applied voltages is maintained at around 320K and can be widely used in heat-labile applications.     

Modeling OH transport phenomena in cold plasma discharges using the level set method

Cold atmospheric plasmas (CAPs) have attracted considerable interest in the field of plasma medicine. Generated reactive species such as hydroxyl (OH) species play an important role in applications of CAPs. Transportation of OH species towards the target and distribution of these OH species in the plasma plume play an important role in the applications of plasma medicine. In the present work, a computational model was built to simulate the transportation and distribution of OH species in CAP discharges, which was based on the level set method to dynamically track the propagation of plasma carrier gas in air. A reaction term was incorporated for the OH species. The OH species tended to diffuse around the main stream of the carrier gas, and thus covered larger radial and axial distances. A CAP discharge onto a skin layer led to the largest accumulation of OH species at the central part of the exposed area. The distribution of OH species on the skin was asymmetric, which agreed with experiments. The computational model itself and the obtained results would be useful for future development of plasma medicine.     

Numerical prediction of pellet injection effects on core plasma fueling in the KSTAR tokamak

Since pellet injection into tokamak plasmas has been found to be an effective method for fueling and profile modification of core plasmas in tokamak experiments, a hypothetical injection of deutrium pellets into the KSTAR tokamak is numerically simulated in this work to investigate its influences on the fueling and transport of the core plasma depending on pellet parameters. A neutral gas shielding model and a pellet drift displacement model are used to describe the ablation and mass deposition from pellets on core plasma profiles. These models are coupled with a 1.5-dimensional (1.5D) core transport code to calculate the plasma density and temperature profiles responding to pellets injected into the target plasma. The simulation results indicate that a HFS (high field side) injection achieves more effective fueling due to a deeper pellet penetration into the core plasma, compared with a LFS (low field side) injection. The plasma density is found to increase during sequential pellet injections from both HFS and LFS, but the HFS case shows better fueling performance owing to a drift of the pellet ablatant in the major radius direction resulting in the deeper pellet penetration. Increasing the size and injection velocity of the pellet contributes to enhance the fueling efficiency. However, raising the power of neutral beam injection heating reduces the fueling efficiency because the pellet mass deposition is shifted toward the edge region in high temperature plasmas. It is concluded that the pellet size and injection direction among pellet and plasma parameters have the most dominant effects on fueling performance while the pellet velocity and heating power have relatively small influences on fueling.     

Tomography of a simply magnetized toroidal plasma

Optical emission spectroscopy is a passive diagnostic technique,which does not perturb the plasma state.In particular,in a hydrogen plasma,Balmer-alpha(Hα) emission can be easily measured in the visible range along a line of sight from outside the plasma vessel.Other emission lines in the visible spectral range from hydrogen atoms and molecules can be exploited too,in order to gather complementary pieces of information on the plasma state.Tomography allows us to capture bi-dimensional structures.We propose to adopt an emission spectroscopy tomography for studying the transverse profiles of magnetized plasmas when Abel inversion is not exploitable.An experimental campaign was carried out at the Thorello device,a simple magnetized torus.The characteristics of the profile extraction method,which we implemented for this purpose are discussed,together with a few results concerning the plasma profiles in a simply magnetized torus configuration.     

Correlation of III/V semiconductor etch results with physical parameters of high-density reactive plasmas excited by electron cyclotron resonance

Reactive ion etching is the interaction of reactive plasmas with surfaces. To obtain a detailed understanding of this process, significant properties of reactive composite low-pressure plasmas driven by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) were investigated and compared with the radial uniformity of the etch rate. The determination of the electronic properties of chlorine-and hydrogen-containing plasmas enabled the understanding of the pressure-dependent behavior of the plasma density and provided better insights into the electronic parameters of reactive etch gases. From the electrical evaluation of I(V ) characteristics obtained using a Langmuir probe, plasmas of different compositions were investigated. The standard method of Druyvesteyn to derive the electron energy distribution functions by the second derivative of the I(V ) characteristics was replaced by a mathematical model which has been evolved to be more robust against noise, mainly, because the first derivative of the I(V ) characteristics is used. Special attention was given to the power of the energy dependence in the exponent. In particular, for plasmas that are generated by ECR with EM modes, the existence of Maxwellian distribution functions is not to be taken as a self-evident fact, but the bi-Maxwellian distribution was proven for Ar-and Kr-stabilized plasmas. In addition to the electron temperature, the global uniform discharge model has been shown to be useful for calculating the neutral gas temperature. To what extent the invasive method of using a Langmuir probe could be replaced with the non-invasive optical method of emission spectroscopy, particularly actinometry, was investigated, and the resulting data exhibited the same relative behavior as the Langmuir data. The correlation with etchrate data reveals the large chemical part of the removal process—most striking when the data is compared with etching in pure argon. Although the relative amount of the radial variation of plasma density and etch rate is approximately ±5%, the etch rate shows a slightly concave shape in contrast to the plasma density.     

Correlation of Ⅲ/Ⅴ semiconductor etch results with physical parameters of high-density reactive plasmas excited by electron cyclotron resonance

Reactive ion etching is the interaction of reactive plasmas with surfaces. To obtain a detailed understanding of this process, significant properties of reactive composite low-pressure plasmas driven by electron cyclotron resonance(ECR) were investigated and compared with the radial uniformity of the etch rate. The determination of the electronic properties of chlorine-and hydrogen-containing plasmas enabled the understanding of the pressure-dependent behavior of the plasma density and provided better insights into the electronic parameters of reactive etch gases. From the electrical evaluation of I(V) characteristics obtained using a Langmuir probe,plasmas of different compositions were investigated. The standard method of Druyvesteyn to derive the electron energy distribution functions by the second derivative of the I(V)characteristics was replaced by a mathematical model which has been evolved to be more robust against noise, mainly, because the first derivative of the I(V) characteristics is used. Special attention was given to the power of the energy dependence in the exponent. In particular, for plasmas that are generated by ECR with EM modes, the existence of Maxwellian distribution functions is not to be taken as a self-evident fact, but the bi-Maxwellian distribution was proven for Ar-and Kr-stabilized plasmas. In addition to the electron temperature, the global uniform discharge model has been shown to be useful for calculating the neutral gas temperature. To what extent the invasive method of using a Langmuir probe could be replaced with the noninvasive optical method of emission spectroscopy, particularly actinometry, was investigated,and the resulting data exhibited the same relative behavior as the Langmuir data. The correlation with etchrate data reveals the large chemical part of the removal process—most striking when the data is compared with etching in pure argon. Although the relative amount of the radial variation of plasma density and etch rate is approximately ?5%, the etch rate shows a slightly concave shape in contrast to the plasma density.     

Characteristics of a plasma flow field produced by a metal array bridge foil explosion

To improve the energy utilization efficiency of metal bridge foil explosion, and increase the function range of plasmas, array bridge foil explosion experiments with different structures were performed. A Schlieren photographic measurement system with a double-pulse laser source was used to observe the flow field of a bridge foil explosion. The evolution laws of plasmas and shock waves generated by array bridge foil explosions of different structures were analyzed and compared. A multi-phase flow calculation model was established to simulate the electrical exploding process of a metal bridge foil. The plasma equation of state was determined by considering the effect of the changing number of particles and Coulomb interaction on the pressure and internal energy. The ionization degree of the plasma was calculated via the Saha–Eggert equation assuming conditions of local thermal equilibrium. The exploding process of array bridge foils was simulated, and the superposition processes of plasma beams were analyzed. The variation and distribution laws of the density, temperature, pressure, and other important parameters were obtained. The results show that the array bridge foil has a larger plasma jet diameter than the single bridge foil for an equal total area of the bridge foil. We also found that the temperature, pressure, and density of the plasma jet's center region sharply increase because of the superposition of plasma beams.     

Simulations for plasma spectroscopy based on UTA theory

The unresolved transition array(UTA) simulation with configuration average approximation is used to calculate the spectral properties of plasmas involving complex ions.This method is used to simulate the transmission of X-rays through aluminum plasma and niobium plasma respectively.The results are compared with experiments and other results of advanced models and good agreements are obtained.     

Estimation of plasma density perturbation from dusty plasma injection by laser irradiation on tungsten target in DiPS

To investigate the interaction of dusty plasma with magnetized plasmas at divertor plasma simulator, radial profiles of plasma density(ne) and electron temperature were measured in terms of plasma discharge currents and magnetic flux intensity by using a fast scanning probes system with triple tips. Dusty plasma with dusts(a generation rate of 3 μg s~(-1) and a size of 1–10 μm)was produced via interactions between a high-power laser beam and a full tungsten target. As ne increases, the scale of the effects of dusty plasma injection on magnetized plasmas was decreased. Also, the duration of transient fluctuation was reduced. For numerical estimation of plasma density perturbation due to dusty plasma injection, the result was ~10% at a core region of the magnetized plasma with n_e of(2–5)×10~(11) cm~(-3) at steady state condition.     

Optical emission measurement of high-uniformity and high-density O2 supermagnetron plasma

The density and spatial distribution of O₂ supermagnetron plasma generated in between two parallel cathodes were measured by optical emission spectroscopy. Uniform plasma could be generated for the cathode spacing of 20–30 mm and a gas pressure of 2–10 mTorr on a magnetic field application of 130 G. The highest optical emission intensity (OEI) was observed at the cathode spacing of about 20 mm. OEIs of O-ions (464.9 nm) and O-radicals (777.1 nm) showed a strong RF-voltage-phase-difference dependencies of two supplied RF powers, and the OEIs at about 150°, i.e. around 180°, were about 2 times stronger than those of a conventional magnetron plasma generated at a gas pressure of 3–80 mTorr. In the spatial distribution measurements of OEIs, high-uniform plasmas were observed at a wide range of the RF phase difference, e.g. 0 and 120°.     

A new facility for studying plasma interacting with flowing liquid lithium surface

A new facility to study plasmas interacting with flowing liquid lithium surface was designed and is constructing in Sichuan University. The integrated setup includes the liquid lithium circulating part and linear high density plasma generator. The circulating part is consisted of main loop, on-line monitor system, lithium purification system and temperature programmed desorption system. In our group a linear high density plasma generator was built in 2012. Three coils were mounted along the vessel to produce an axial magnetic field inside. The magnetic field strength is up to 0.45 T and work continuously. Experiments on plasmas interacting with free flowing liquid lithium surface will be performed.     

Electrodeless plasma thrusters for spacecraft: a review

The physics of electrodeless electric thrusters that use directed plasma to propel spacecraft without employing electrodes subject to plasma erosion is reviewed.Electrodeless plasma thrusters are potentially more durable than presently deployed thrusters that use electrodes such as gfidded ion,Hall thrusters,arcjets and resistojets.Like other plasma thrusters,electrodeless thrusters have the advantage of reduced fuel mass compared to chemical thrusters that produce the same thrust.The status of electrodeless plasma thrusters that could be used in communications satellites and in spacecraft for interplanetary missions is examined.Electrodeless thrusters under development or planned for deployment include devices that use a rotating magnetic field;devices that use a rotating electric field;pulsed inductive devices that exploit the Lorentz force on an induced current loop in a plasma;devices that use radiofrequency fields to heat plasmas and have magnetic nozzles to accelerate the hot plasma and other devices that exploit the Lorentz force.Using metrics of specific impulse and thrust efficiency,we find that the most promising designs are those that use Lorentz forces directly to expel plasma and those that use magnetic nozzles to accelerate plasma.     

Impact of the mass isotope on plasma confinement and transport properties in the HL-2A tokamak

The impact of the mass isotope on plasma confinement and transport properties has been investigated in Ohmically-heated hydrogen and deuterium plasmas in the HL-2A tokamak. Experimental results show that under similar discharge parameters the deuterium plasma has better confinement and lower turbulent transport than the hydrogen one, and concomitantly, it is found that the magnitude of geodesic acoustic mode zonal flows, the tilting angle of the Reynolds stress tensor and the turbulence correlation lengths are all larger in the edge region of the deuterium plasma. The results provide direct experimental evidence on the importance of the nonlinear energy coupling between ambient turbulence and zonal flows for governing the isotope effects in fusion plasmas.     

Characteristics of Atmospheric Pressure Rotating Gliding Arc Plasmas

In this work,a novel direct current (DC) atmospheric pressure rotating gliding arc (RGA) plasma reactor has been developed for plasma-assisted chemical reactions.The influence of the gas composition and the gas flow rate on the arc dynamic behaviour and the formation of reactive species in the N2 and air gliding arc plasmas has been investigated by means of electrical signals,high speed photography,and optical emission spectroscopic diagnostics.Compared to conventional gliding arc reactors with knife-shaped electrodes which generally require a high flow rate (e.g.,10-20 L/min) to maintain a long arc length and reasonable plasma discharge zone,in this RGA system,a lower gas flow rate (e.g.,2 L/min) can also generate a larger effective plasma reaction zone with a longer arc length for chemical reactions.Two different motion patterns can be clearly observed in the N2 and air RGA plasmas.The time-resolved arc voltage signals show that three different arc dynamic modes,the arc restrike mode,takeover mode,and combined modes,can be clearly identified in the RGA plasmas.The occurrence of different motion and arc dynamic modes is strongly dependent on the composition of the working gas and gas flow rate.     

中心螺线圈式大面积均匀金属等离子体形成方法

传统的磁过滤阴极真空弧系统的金属等离子体输出面积较小且出口处的密度呈高斯分布,阻碍了等离子体浸没离子注入与沉积(PⅢ&D)技术的工业化应用,使得大面积均匀金属等离子体的产生成为了业内研究的热点.本文提出了一种基于多阴极脉冲真空弧源对称配置的中心螺线圈式大面积均匀金属等离子体形成方法,可输出直径约为600mm的金属等离子体.沉积探针结果表明:载流螺线圈对沉积均匀性有较大的影响.单源X方向的沉积均匀性优于Y方向的沉积均匀性;四弧源的离子流密度约为单源的5.5倍,沉积均匀性最高可达83.8%.     

Investigation of laser plasma dynamics using the X-ray spectra of multicharged ions

Results are reported on the study of the structure of optically thick laser plasmas from the intensity of X-ray spectral lines. The analysis of plasma images provides information about the average velocity of the plasma expansion, the hydrodynamic efficiency and the rate of the target evaporation.     

Thermal load on the TFR Tokamak limiter during additional heating pulses and major plasma disruptions

Inconel and graphite have been tested as limiter materials in the TFR Tokamak. Their behaviour during MHD activity and plasma current disruptions in high density low impurity content plasmas has been studied. The discharge energy balance with auxiliary heating has been established by using infrared measurements of the limiter temperature increase and bolometric techniques. Measurements of the temperature distribution on different limiters show that the maximum limiter temperature can be reduced by a large factor by an appropriate choice of the limiter shape and of its total area. The characteristics of the scrape-off layer in the limiter shadow has also been investigated in different limiter configurations. The experimental results and observations indicate a low physical and chemical sputtering of the graphite limiters during plasma discharges and their good properties for thermal shocks during major disruptions.     

Applying chemical engineering concepts to non-thermal plasma reactors

Process scale-up remains a considerable challenge for environmental applications of non-thermal plasmas.Undersanding the impact of reactor hydrodynamics in the performance of the process is a key step to overcome this challenge.In this work,we apply chemical engineering concepts to analyse the impact that different non-thermal plasma reactor configurations and regimes,such as laminar or plug flow,may have on the reactor performance.We do this in the particular context of the removal of pollutants by non-thermal plasmas,for which a simplified model is available.We generalise this model to different reactor configurations and,under certain hypotheses,we show that a reactor in the laminar regime may have a behaviour significantly different from one in the plug flow regime,often assumed in the non-thermal plasma literature.On the other hand,we show that a packed-bed reactor behaves very similarly to one in the plug flow regime.Beyond those results,the reader will find in this work a quick introduction to chemical reaction engineering concepts.