The pulsed linear plasma device Prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX) uses a radio frequency (RF) helicon antenna with an aluminum nitride ceramic window for plasma production. The RF sheath created under the helicon antenna is sufficient to cause ion impact energies to be greater than the sputtering threshold of the AlN helicon window material and for impurities to be created. Here, we investigate the RF sheath on the inner diameter of the helicon window and its impact on the impurity production rates in Proto-MPEX. Three models—a 3D COMSOL finite element RF model of the Proto-MPEX helicon region, a rectified DC sheath potential model, and the 3D Global Impurity TRansport code—are coupled together to study impurity production and transportation. This novel method of impurity generation and transport modeling spans length scales ranging from the sheath (millimeters or less) up to the full device (meters) and can be applied to other radio frequency sources and antennas in a wide range of plasma physics studies, including basic plasmas, low-temperature processing plasmas, plasma thrusters, and fusion plasmas.

RF sheath induced sputtering on Proto-MPEX. I. Sheath equivalent dielectric layer for modeling the RF sheath

The DC and radio frequency (RF) properties of RF driven sheaths were studied in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California, Los Angeles. The experiments diagnosed RF sheaths on field lines connected to a grounded plate at one end and an ion cyclotron range of frequencies antenna at the other end. The experimental setup permitted measurement of the RF sheath impedance at the plate as a function of DC sheath voltage, with the latter controlled by varying the RF current applied to the antenna. The DC–voltage characteristics of these sheaths and the RF sheath impedance measurements were compared with modeling. Hot electrons, present in the LAPD plasma, were inferred to contribute significantly to both the DC and RF currents and hence the RF impedance. It was postulated that at very low power, hot electrons could not access the region of the plasma subject to RF waves resulting in an increased RF impedance. Within some experimental limitations and significant assumptions, an RF sheath impedance model was verified by the experimental data.

Measurement and modeling of the radio frequency sheath impedance in a large magnetized plasma

Author(s): Martin, Michael John | Advisor(s): Gekelman, Walter | Abstract: Ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) systems are critical components of current and future tokamak experiments aimed at producing nuclear fusion energy. During ICRH a host of deleterious effects occur, including increased heat flux to plasma facing components and modification of launched wave power. A suspected root cause of these effects is the radio frequency (RF) rectification of the plasma potential. Interest in the antenna scrape-off layer (SOL) region has drawn increasing interest, as it is recognized that mitigating these effects is necessary to achieving fusion power. This dissertation investigates the RF rectification of the plasma potential and the resulting cross-field flows that form due to an active RF antenna. The experiment is performed in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) utilizing a fast wave antenna and RF amplifier system developed for these studies. The RF system is capable of 150 kW output power for a 1 ms pulse that is repeated at the 1 Hz repetition rate of the LAPD plasma discharge. Upon application of the RF pulse to the antenna, the DC plasma potential, measured with an emissive probe, dramatically increases in certain spatial locations by a factor greater than 10 Te. The largest plasma potentials are observed at locations magnetically connected to the top and bottom of the antenna, and they exist only in the private SOL created between the antenna and a limiter placed 3.6 m away along the LAPD axis. The DC rectified potentials scale linearly with the antenna current over a factor of 12x in the applied current. These DC potentials increase plasma materials interactions (PMI), resulting in the sputtering of antenna materials whose presence is detected in the bulk plasma by the coatings that develop on probe diagnostics. The DC rectified potentials persist in the plasma long after the RF current in the antenna has rung down on the same time scales as the change in the density. At the top and bottom of the antenna are circular flows, often called convective cells. These ?i?½?? flows arise due to the spatial variation of the RF rectified potentials across the background magnetic field. The maximum strength of the electric field causing these flows wasfound to scale quadratically with antenna current, giving rise to drift velocities that are a substantial fraction of the local sound speed, v_drift/c_s ≈ 0.8. These flows have a dramatic effect on the density, which increases in the SOL and develops poloidal asymmetries in the plasma region magnetically connected to the front face of the antenna. The convective cells cause a density depletion at the antenna midplane that increases with antenna current until a threshold current. The 2-D density modification is physically consistent with the calculated ?i?½?? flows. These results show a plethora of problems that must be solved for successful ICRH operation, even at low antenna powers. These deleterious effects may be mitigated by antenna designs that reduce rectified potentials and utilize PMI-resilient materials. The saturation in the density depletion at the antenna midplane suggests methods for targeted density injection may be successful in improving antenna wave coupling.

Michael John Martin

Papers

Radio Frequency Enhanced Plasma Potential and Flows in the Scrape-Off Layer of an Active Antenna