skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Effect of basic physical parameters to control plasma meniscus and beam halo formation in negative ion sources

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4820571· OSTI ID:22218056
 [1]; ; ;  [2]
  1. Naruto University of Education, 748 Nakashima, Takashima, Naruto-cho, Naruto-shi, Tokushima 772-8502 (Japan)
  2. Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522 (Japan)

Our previous study shows that the curvature of the plasma meniscus causes the beam halo in the negative ion sources: the negative ions extracted from the periphery of the meniscus are over-focused in the extractor due to the electrostatic lens effect, and consequently become the beam halo. In this article, the detail physics of the plasma meniscus and beam halo formation is investigated with two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. It is shown that the basic physical parameters such as the H{sup −} extraction voltage and the effective electron confinement time significantly affect the formation of the plasma meniscus and the resultant beam halo since the penetration of electric field for negative ion extraction depends on these physical parameters. Especially, the electron confinement time depends on the characteristic time of electron escape along the magnetic field as well as the characteristic time of electron diffusion across the magnetic field. The plasma meniscus penetrates deeply into the source plasma region when the effective electron confinement time is short. In this case, the curvature of the plasma meniscus becomes large, and consequently the fraction of the beam halo increases.

OSTI ID:
22218056
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 114, Issue 10; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English