Mid Term Review

High power quasi-steady state helicon plasma generation in MAGPIE2

Mr Ka Po Tee
Electronic Materials Engineering, ANU

Linear plasma devices have been used quite extensively in plasma fusion research, due to the high densities and low electron temperature, steady state plasma generation and easy port excess for plasma diagnostics. These devices can simulate the divertor region of a fusion reactor at a relatively low cost, and are used for plasma material interaction studies, plasma detachment studies, plasma transport studies, and diagnostic development.

MAGPIE2 is one such linear device at the Australian National University, powered by a helicon plasma source. MAGPIE2 has an aluminium nitrate source tube as compared to the Pyrex source tube in MAGPIE1, to accommodate high heat load and high plasma density. It is expected to run at 60kW continuously, generating high power steady state plasma to reach even higher density than most linear devices, towards the extreme conditions in the divertor region of a fusion device. Also, MAGPIE2 has movable magnetic coils to control its magnetic field topology as needed.

This project aims to optimize MAGPIE2 for it to reach high plasma densities of 1020m-3, by determining the optimum antenna length, gas pressure, magnetic field configuration, and gas flow. MAGPIE2 is characterized using a number of diagnostics such as Langmuir probes, Bdot probes and optical emission spectroscopy. In this presentation I will give an introduction to MAGPIE2 with some initial measurements of the plasma parameters and compare them to the TASK model.

Zoom meeting: https://anu.zoom.us/j/8472590817?pwd=TjhRZlkyajBrK3hvMjFuKzA3SnVRQT09 

Password: 874 357

Date & time

Wed 28 Oct 2020, 2–3pm

Location

Via Zoom

Audience

Members of RSPE welcome

Contact

(02)61252828