Initial Plasma Startup Test on SUNIST Spherical Tokamak

The goal of the Sino-United Spherical Tokamak (SUNIST) at Tsinghua University is to extend the understanding of toroidal plasma physics at a low aspect ratio (R/a ≈ 1.3) and to demonstrate a maintainable target plasma by non-inductive startup. The SUNIST device isdesigned to operate with up to 13 kA of ohmic heating field current, and to 0.15 T of toroidal field at 10 kA of discharge current. All of the poloidal fields can provide 30 mVs of Volt-seconds transformer. Experimental results of plasma startup show that SUNIST has remarkable characteristics of high ramp rate (dIp/dt ≈ 50 MA/s ), high normalized current IN of about 2.8 (IN = Ip/αBT)，and high-efficiency (Ip/IROD ≈ 0.4) production of plasma current while operating at a low toroidal field. Major disruption phenomena have not been observed from magnetic diagnostics of all testing shots. Initial discharges with 52 kA of plasma current (exceeding the designed value of 50 kA),2 ms of pulse length and 50 MA/s of ramp rate have been achieved easily with pre-ionized filament.     

Investigation of electron cyclotron current drive efficiency on the J-TEXT tokamak

Electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) efficiency research is of great importance for the neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) stabilization. Improving ECCD efficiency is beneficial for the NTM stabilization and the ECCD power threshold reduction. ECCD efficiency has been investigated on the J-TEXT tokamak. The electron cyclotron wave (ECW) power scan was performed to obtain the current drive efficiency. The current drive efficiency is derived to be approximately η₀ = (0.06–0.16) × 10¹⁹ A m⁻² W⁻¹ on the J-TEXT tokamak. The effect of the residual toroidal electric field has been included in the determination of the current drive efficiency, which will enhance the ECCD efficiency. At the plasma current of I_p = 100 kA and electron density of n_e = 1.5 × 10¹⁹ m⁻³, the ratio of Spitzer conductivity between omhic (OH) and ECCD phases is considered and the experimental data have been corrected. The correction results show that the current drive efficiency η1 caused by the fast electron hot conductivity decreases by approximately 79%. It can be estimated that the driven current is approximately 24 kA at 300 kW ECW power.     

Overview of runaway current suppression and dissipation on J-TEXT tokamak

The main works on disruption mitigation including suppression and mitigation of runaway current on the J-TEXT tokamak are summarized in this paper. Two strategies for the mitigation of runaway electron (RE) beams are applied in experiments. The first strategy enables the REs to be completely suppressed by means of supersonic molecular beam injection and resonant magnetic perturbation which can enhance RE loss, magnetic energy transfer which can reduce the electric field, and secondary massive gas injection (MGI) which can increase the collisional damping. For the second strategy, the runaway current is allowed to form but should be dissipated or soft landed within tolerance. It is observed that the runaway current can be significantly dissipated by MGI, and the dissipation rate increases with the injected impurity particle number and eventually stabilizes at 28 MA s−1. The dissipation rate of the runaway current can be up to 3 MA s−1 by ohmic field. Shattered pellet injection has been chosen as the main disruption mitigation method, which has the capability of injecting material deeper into the plasma for higher density assimilation when compared to MGI. Moreover, simulation works show that the RE seeds in the plasma are strongly influenced under different phases and sizes of 2/1 mode locked islands during thermal quench. The robust runaway suppression and runaway current dissipation provide an important insight on the disruption mitigation for future large tokamaks.     

Experimental study of density pump-out on EAST

In the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak,density pump-out phenomena were observed by using a multi-channel polarimeter-interferometer system under different heating schemes of ion cyclotron resonant heating,electron cyclotron resonance heating,and neutral beam injection.The density pump-out was also induced with application of resonant magnetic perturbation,accompanied with a degradation of particle confinement.For the comparison analysis in all heating schemes,the typical plasma parameters are plasma current 400 k A,toroidal field 2 T,and line average density 2?×?10~(19)m~(-3).The experimental results show that the degree of pump-out is concerned with electron density and heating power.Low density deuterium low confinement(L-mode) plasmas(3.5?×?10~(19)m~(-3)) show strong pump-out effects.The density pump-out correlated with a significant drop of particle confinement.     

Low energy nitrogen ion doping into GaAs using combined ion-beam and molecular-beam epitaxy method

Low energy nitrogen (N) ions were irradiated during the epitaxial growth of GaAs using combined ion beam and molecular beam epitaxy (CIBMBE) method as a function of N⁺ ion acceleration energy (E_a) and N⁺ ion beam current density (I_N). E_a was varied from 70 to 170 eV I_N from 900 pA/cm² to 75 nA/cm². GaAs growth rate was fixed to 1 μm/h. In 2 K photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples with I_N = 3 nA/cm² and E_a = 70–100 eV, two sharp emissions at 1.508 eV (X₁) and 1.495 eV (X₂), which have been attributed to the emissions of excitons bound to isolated N atoms, and another one at 1.443 eV (X₅) were observed. These results show that nitrogen (N) atom in GaAs becomes optically active as an isoelectronic impurity at least in as-grown condition. For N⁺ ion-irradiated samples with rather high I_N, e.g., with I_N = 75 nA/cm² and E_a = 100 eV, a broad emission together with multiple sharp ones were observed after furnace annealing at 750°C which were ascribed to emissions of excitons bound to nitrogen-nitrogen (N---N) pairs.     

Simulation of runaway electron generation and diffusion during major disruptions in the HL-2A tokamak

The generation and diffusion of runaway electrons (REs) during major disruptions in the HL-2A tokamak has been studied numerically. The diffusion caused by the magnetic perturbation is especially addressed. The simulation results show that the strong magnetic perturbation (δB/B ∼ 1.0 × 10⁻³) can cause a significant loss of REs due to the radial diffusion and restrain the RE avalanche effectively. The results also indicate that the REs are generated initially in the plasma core during disruptions, and that the toroidal electric field does not exhibit a centrally hollow phenomenon. In addition, it is found that the toroidal effects have little impact on the generation of RE and the evolution of toroidal electric field.     

A large-grain-size thick-film polycrystalline diamond detector for x-ray detection

A diamond film with a size of 6 × 6 × 0.5 mm³ is fabricated by electron-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Raman spectrum analysis, x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope images confirm the high purity and large grain size, which is larger than 300 μm. Its resistivity is higher than ${10}^{12}\,{\rm{\Omega }}\cdot {\rm{cm}}.$ Interlaced-finger electrodes are imprinted onto the diamond film to develop an x-ray detector. Ohmic contact is confirmed by checking the linearity of its current–voltage curve. The dark current is lower than 0.1 nA under an electric field of 30 kV cm⁻¹. The time response is 220 ps. The sensitivity is about 125 mA W⁻¹ under a biasing voltage of 100 V. A good linear radiation dose rate is also confirmed. This diamond detector is used to measure x-ray on a Z-pinch, which has a double-layer 'nested tungsten wire array'. The pronounced peaks in the measured waveform clearly characterize the x-ray bursts, which proves the performance of this diamond detector.     

Initial plasma start-up using partial solenoid coils in Versatile Experiment Spherical Torus (VEST)

Initial plasma start-up experiments based on ohmic discharge using partial solenoid coils located at both vertical ends of a center stack have been carried out in Versatile Experiment Spherical Torus (VEST) at Seoul National University. Ohmic discharges with the help of microwave pre-ionization have been performed according to the pre-programed start-up scenario which was experimentally verified by a series of vacuum field measurements using an internal magnetic probe array. A plasma current of around 0.4 kA has been achieved by ohmic discharge using partial solenoid coils, under the toroidal magnetic field of 0.1 T. The vacuum field calculation and fast camera image have revealed that the small plasma current even with significant amount of loop voltage up to 9.7 V is attributed to the imbalance of poloidal field for equilibrium. Modification of the start-up scenario and upgrade of power supplies are proposed to be carried out in order to achieve higher plasma current in the future experiments.     

Numerical simulation and experiment of error field measurement using luminous trace of electron beam in SST-1

In contrast to the earlier experiments conducted in other machines,here,in SST-1 the error field measurement experiment is performed with a filled gas pressure ～8×10~(-4) mbar which helped to create a luminescent toroidal beam of electron path originated due to impact excitation and guided by the toroidal magnetic field.Beam path deviations are observed and recorded from radial and top ports using visible range cameras.Such creation and detection of the electron beam path differs from the earlier works where the gun emitted electron beam deviation in ultrahigh vacuum was detected on a collector-grid/fluorescent screen.In the present experiment,large beam deviations were observed.Later investigation of the experimental set-up reveals existence of a possible source of radial electric field in between the source and the vacuum vessel which are separately grounded.Thus,to understand the observed phenomena,experiments are numerically modeled with deviated TF coil set,PF coil set and the electron source location.A particle tracing code is used to follow the electron path in the magnetic field generated by the coil set of interest.Simulation results suggest that the large deviation corresponds to the E×B drifts and not due to the large field errors.Toroidally averaged field errors of the SST-1 TF coils at toroidal field of B_0=15 kG are negligibly small～B_0×10~(-6) or less,which should not adversely affect the plasma performance.     

Comparison of Reynolds average Navier-Stokes turbulence models in numerical simulations of the DC arc plasma torch

Five turbulence models of Reynolds average Navier-Stokes(RANS),including the standard k-ω model,the RNG k-e model taking into account the low Reynolds number effect,the realizable k-ω model,the SST k-ω model,and the Reynolds stress model(RSM),are employed in the numerical simulations of direct current(DC)arc plasma torches in the range of arc current from 80 A to 240 A and air gas flow rate from 10 m^3 h^-1 to 50 m^3 h^-1.The calculated voltage,electric field intensity,and the heat loss in the arc chamber are compared with the experiments.The results indicate that the arc voltage,the electric field,and the heat loss in the arc chamber calculated by using the standard k-ω model,the RNG k-ωmodel taking into account the low Reynolds number effect,and the realizable k-ω model are much larger than those in the experiments.The RSM predicts relatively close results to the experiments,but fails in the trend of heat loss varying with the gas flow rate.The calculated results of the SST k-ω model are in the best agreement with the experiments,which may be attributed to the reasonable predictions of the turbulence as well as its distribution.     

Epitaxial silicon carbide for X-ray detection

We present the first experimental results of X-ray detection and spectroscopy by means of Schottky junctions on epitaxial silicon carbide (SiC). The devices have a junction area of 3 mm² on an n-type 4H-SiC layer 30 μm thick with a dopant concentration of 1.8×10 cm at 300 K, the reverse current density of the best device varies between 2 pA/cm² and 18 pA/cm² as the mean electric field is increased from 40 kV/cm up to 170 kV/cm. The devices have been tested with X and γ rays from ²⁴¹Am; the best measured energy resolution is 2.7 keV FWHM at room temperature     

Runaway Electron Suppression by ECRH and RMP in KSTAR

We have observed reduction of the runaway electron synchrotron radiation, hard X-ray (HXR) intensity, and HXR energy after applying 110 GHz 2nd harmonic electron cyclotron resonant heating (ECRH) during runaway electron (RE) discharges at low density with startup runaway electrons. However, we did not see a significant reduction of X-rays from 170 GHz 2nd harmonic ECRH at a higher field. A recently installed IR TV camera was used to observe the forward cone of synchrotron radiation from high energy REs in KSTAR. We have observed changes to the synchrotron images and reduction of the HXR by application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMP) from in-vessel control coils (IVCC) installed inside KSTAR in the n = 1 configuration.     

Prompt acceleration of a μ+ beam in a toroidal wakefield driven by a shaped steep-rising-front Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulse

Recent experimental data for anomalous magnetic moments strongly indicates the existence of new physics beyond the Standard Model. Energetic μ⁺ bunches are relevant to μ⁺ rare decay, spin rotation, resonance and relaxation (μSR) technology, future muon colliders, and neutrino factories. In this paper, we propose prompt μ⁺ acceleration in a nonlinear toroidal wakefield driven by a shaped steep-rising-front Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) laser pulse. An analytical model is described, which shows that a μ⁺ beam can be focused by an electron cylinder at the centerline of a toroidal bubble and accelerated by the front part of the longitudinal wakefield. A shaped LG laser with a short rise time can push plasma electrons, generating a higher-density electron sheath at the front of the bubble, which can enhance the acceleration field. The acceleration field driven by the shaped steep-rising-front LG laser pulse is about four times greater than that driven by a normal LG laser pulse. Our simulation results show that a 300 MeV μ⁺ bunch can be accelerated to 2 GeV and its transverse size is focused from an initial value of w₀ = 5 μm to w = 2 μm in the toroidal bubble driven by the shaped steep-rising-front LG laser pulse with a normalized amplitude of a = 22.     

Radiation induced conduction in Kapton H film

The current-voltage characteristics of an 8-μm-thick Kapton-H sample irradiated by a 45-keV penetrating electron beam have been measured for a range of beam current densities (1-12 nA/cm²). The experimental results are consistent with a model which predicts the current to be dependent linearly on voltage at low voltage (ohmic regime), quadratically at intermediate voltages (space-charge-limited regime), and exponentially at higher voltages (trap-filled-limit regime). This model emphasizes the role of injected space charge and the filling traps in the forbidden band over field-dependent Poole-Frenkel and Schottky-barrier models proposed by others     

Experimental study of single-translated field-reversed configuration in KMAX

For collisional merging field-reversed configurations (FRCs), it is desired to have both FRCs tuned to be approximately the same, as well as to optimize each FRC to have high temperature and high translation speed so as to retain most of the equilibrium flux after traveling a distance to the middle plane for merging. The present study reports the experimental study of a single-translated FRC in the KMAX-FRC device with various diagnostics, including a triple probe, a bolometer, several magnetic probe arrays, and a novel 2D internal magnetic probe array. According to the measurements conducted in the present study, a maximum toroidal magnetic field equal to ∼1/3 of the external magnetic field inside the FRC separatrix radius is observed, and the typical parameters of a single-translated FRC near the device’s mid-plane are ne ∼ (2–4)×10¹⁹ m⁻³, T_e ∼ 8 eV, T_i ∼ 5 eV, r_s ∼ 0.2 m, l_s ∼ 0.6 m and ϕ_p(RR) ∼ 0.2 mWb. The 2D magnetic topology measurement revealed, for the first time, the time evolution of the overall internal magnetic fields of a single-translated FRC, and an optimized operation regime is given in the paper.     

Diminished electron cloud broadening in a silicon drift detector bysawtooth p+ strips

Already in 1993, sawtooth-shaped p⁺ strips were proposed to diminish lateral diffusion in linear multi-anode silicon drift detectors. The sawtooth structure generates small electric fields directed parallel to the detector surface and perpendicular to the drift direction. These fields confine the drifting electrons within a sawtooth period, In this paper the authors present for the first time experimental proof of the applicability of the concept. For a sawtooth period of 500 μm, we have tested the confinement of electron clouds as a function of injected charge up to 5×10⁶ electrons. The maximum number of electrons for which full confinement is achieved has been measured as a function of the potential gutter depth generated by different sawtooth angles     

Theoretical research on the transport and ionization rate coefficients in glow discharge dusty plasma

The electron kinetic model for investigating the transport and ionization rate coefficients of argon glow discharge dusty plasma is developed from the Boltzmann equation.Both of the electron-neutral and electron-dust collisions are considered as collision terms in the kinetic equation.The kinetic equation is simplified by employing the local approximation and nonlocal approach under the same discharge conditions,and the corresponding simplified kinetic equations are known as local and nonlocal kinetic equations respectively.Then the electron energy distribution function(EEDF)is obtained by numerically solving the local and nonlocal kinetic equations and the dust charging equations simultaneously.Based on the obtained EEDFs,the effective electron temperature,electron mobility,electron diffusion coefficient and ionization rate coefficient are calculated for different discharge conditions.It is shown that the EEDFs calculated from the local kinetic model clearly differ from the nonlocal EEDFs and both the local and nonlocal EEDFs are also clearly different with Maxwellian distributions.The appearance of dust particles results in an obvious decrease of high energy electrons and increase of low energy electrons when axial electric field is low.With the increase of axial electric field,the influence of dust particles on the EEDFs becomes smaller.The electron mobility and diffusion coefficients calculated on the basis of local and nonlocal EEDFs do not differ greatly to the dust-free ones.While,when dust density nd=10^6 cm^?3,the electron mobility increases obviously compared with the dust-free results at low axial electric field and decreases with the increasing axial electric field until they are close to the dust-free ones.Meanwhile,electron diffusion coefficients for dusty case become smaller and decrease with the increasing axial electric field.The ionization rate coefficients decrease when dust particles are introduced and they approach the dust-free results gradually with the increasing axial electric field.     

Measurement of surface charges on the dielectric film based on field mills under the HVDC corona wire

The ion flow field on the ground is one of the significant parameters used to evaluate the electromagnetic environment of high voltage direct current (HVDC) power lines. HVDC lines may cross the greenhouses due to the restricted transmission corridors. Under the condition of ion flow field, the dielectric films on the greenhouses will be charged, and the electric fields in the greenhouses may exceed the limit value. Field mills are widely used to measure the groundlevel direct current electric fields under the HVDC power lines. In this paper, the charge inversion method is applied to calculate the surface charges on the dielectric film according to the measured ground-level electric fields. The advantages of hiding the field mill probes in the ground are studied. The charge inversion algorithm is optimized in order to decrease the impact of measurement errors. Based on the experimental results, the surface charge distribution on a piece of quadrate dielectric film under a HVDC corona wire is studied. The enhanced effect of dielectric film on ground-level electric field is obviously weakened with the increase of film height. Compared with the total electric field strengths, the normal components of film-free electric fields at the corresponding film-placed positions have a higher effect on surface charge accumulation.     

Study of Electron Orbits for Formation of Toroidal Closed Flux Surface by ECH

Electron orbits under the external vertical field (BV) and the self poloidal field of the toroidal plasma current in a toroidal geometry are investigated by using analytic model fields in order to search for the conditions of occurence of appropriate confinement asymmetry of fast electrons along the field lines. This asymmetry e±ciently and quickly generates a toroidal current, which may close the field lines in ECH-started plasmas. It is analytically shown that the characteristics of confinement asymmetry depend on the product of the major radius and the strength of the external vertical field. The results suggest that in large devices BV should be lowered and also some artificial means to speed up the pitch angle scattering for the fast electrons at a higher energy range are beneficial to generate the toroidal current in order to close the filed lines.     

Study of electromagnetic noise influence on quench detection system under different discharge conditions for EAST

EAST is the first Tokamak device whose toroidal and poloidal magnet are superconducting. The enormous magnetic field energy stored in the magnet system will transfer into thermal energy and cause the damage of superconducting magnet, if a quench happened. Therefore, reliable quench detection is a key issue for steady-state operation. In addition to electromagnetic noise from poloidal magnet fields and plasma current which will experience fast current ramp rate, radio frequency noise from heating system also have some interference on quench detection system to a certain degree. The most difficult point for quench detection system is required to have more detail evaluation on electromagnetic noise interference.Recently experiments have been carried out successfully in EAST device. The steady-state operation with 1 MA of plasma current and more than 100-s plasma duration has been obtained. In the paper, the electromagnetic noise interference on quench detection system under different discharge conditions are analyzed and relative process methods are also introduced. The technological experience and experimental data are significant for the constructing ITER and similar superconducting device have been mentioned which will supply significant technological experience and experimental data for constructing ITER and similar superconducting device.