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Title: An in situ accelerator-based diagnostic for plasma-material interactions science on magnetic fusion devices

Abstract

This paper presents a novel particle accelerator-based diagnostic that nondestructively measures the evolution of material surface compositions inside magnetic fusion devices. The diagnostic's purpose is to contribute to an integrated understanding of plasma-material interactions in magnetic fusion, which is severely hindered by a dearth of in situ material surface diagnosis. The diagnostic aims to remotely generate isotopic concentration maps on a plasma shot-to-shot timescale that cover a large fraction of the plasma-facing surface inside of a magnetic fusion device without the need for vacuum breaks or physical access to the material surfaces. Our instrument uses a compact (∼1 m), high-current (∼1 milliamp) radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator to inject 0.9 MeV deuterons into the Alcator C-Mod tokamak at MIT. We control the tokamak magnetic fields – in between plasma shots – to steer the deuterons to material surfaces where the deuterons cause high-Q nuclear reactions with low-Z isotopes ∼5 μm into the material. The induced neutrons and gamma rays are measured with scintillation detectors; energy spectra analysis provides quantitative reconstruction of surface compositions. An overview of the diagnostic technique, known as accelerator-based in situ materials surveillance (AIMS), and the first AIMS diagnostic on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak is given. Experimental validation ismore » shown to demonstrate that an optimized deuteron beam is injected into the tokamak, that low-Z isotopes such as deuterium and boron can be quantified on the material surfaces, and that magnetic steering provides access to different measurement locations. The first AIMS analysis, which measures the relative change in deuterium at a single surface location at the end of the Alcator C-Mod FY2012 plasma campaign, is also presented.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22220217
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Review of Scientific Instruments
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 84; Journal Issue: 12; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0034-6748
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; ALCATOR DEVICE; BORON; DEUTERIUM; DEUTERON BEAMS; DEUTERONS; ENERGY SPECTRA; GAMMA RADIATION; LINEAR ACCELERATORS; NEUTRONS; NUCLEAR REACTIONS; PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS; PLASMA GUNS; RADIOWAVE RADIATION; SCINTILLATION COUNTERS; SURFACES; WALL EFFECTS

Citation Formats

Hartwig, Zachary S., Barnard, Harold S., Lanza, Richard C., Sorbom, Brandon N., Stahle, Peter W., and Whyte, Dennis G. An in situ accelerator-based diagnostic for plasma-material interactions science on magnetic fusion devices. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4832420.
Hartwig, Zachary S., Barnard, Harold S., Lanza, Richard C., Sorbom, Brandon N., Stahle, Peter W., & Whyte, Dennis G. An in situ accelerator-based diagnostic for plasma-material interactions science on magnetic fusion devices. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4832420
Hartwig, Zachary S., Barnard, Harold S., Lanza, Richard C., Sorbom, Brandon N., Stahle, Peter W., and Whyte, Dennis G. 2013. "An in situ accelerator-based diagnostic for plasma-material interactions science on magnetic fusion devices". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4832420.
@article{osti_22220217,
title = {An in situ accelerator-based diagnostic for plasma-material interactions science on magnetic fusion devices},
author = {Hartwig, Zachary S. and Barnard, Harold S. and Lanza, Richard C. and Sorbom, Brandon N. and Stahle, Peter W. and Whyte, Dennis G.},
abstractNote = {This paper presents a novel particle accelerator-based diagnostic that nondestructively measures the evolution of material surface compositions inside magnetic fusion devices. The diagnostic's purpose is to contribute to an integrated understanding of plasma-material interactions in magnetic fusion, which is severely hindered by a dearth of in situ material surface diagnosis. The diagnostic aims to remotely generate isotopic concentration maps on a plasma shot-to-shot timescale that cover a large fraction of the plasma-facing surface inside of a magnetic fusion device without the need for vacuum breaks or physical access to the material surfaces. Our instrument uses a compact (∼1 m), high-current (∼1 milliamp) radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator to inject 0.9 MeV deuterons into the Alcator C-Mod tokamak at MIT. We control the tokamak magnetic fields – in between plasma shots – to steer the deuterons to material surfaces where the deuterons cause high-Q nuclear reactions with low-Z isotopes ∼5 μm into the material. The induced neutrons and gamma rays are measured with scintillation detectors; energy spectra analysis provides quantitative reconstruction of surface compositions. An overview of the diagnostic technique, known as accelerator-based in situ materials surveillance (AIMS), and the first AIMS diagnostic on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak is given. Experimental validation is shown to demonstrate that an optimized deuteron beam is injected into the tokamak, that low-Z isotopes such as deuterium and boron can be quantified on the material surfaces, and that magnetic steering provides access to different measurement locations. The first AIMS analysis, which measures the relative change in deuterium at a single surface location at the end of the Alcator C-Mod FY2012 plasma campaign, is also presented.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4832420},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22220217}, journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
issn = {0034-6748},
number = 12,
volume = 84,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2013},
month = {Sun Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2013}
}