Glow plasma trigger for electron cyclotron resonance ion sources

Journal Article · Mon Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Review of Scientific Instruments

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3258025· OSTI ID:22053656

Vodopianov, A V; Golubev, S V; Izotov, I V ^[1]; Nikolaev, A G; Oks, E M; Savkin, K P; Yushkov, G Yu ^[2]

---

1. Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Science, Nizhniy Novgorod 603950 (Russian Federation)
2. High Current Electronics Institute, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Science, Tomsk 634055 (Russian Federation)

Electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECRISs) are particularly useful for nuclear, atomic, and high energy physics, as unique high current generators of multicharged ion beams. Plasmas of gas discharges in an open magnetic trap heated by pulsed (100 {mu}s and longer) high power (100 kW and higher) high-frequency (greater than 37.5 GHz) microwaves of gyrotrons is promising in the field of research in the development of electron cyclotron resonance sources for high charge state ion beams. Reaching high ion charge states requires a decrease in gas pressure in the magnetic trap, but this method leads to increases in time, in which the microwave discharge develops. The gas breakdown and microwave discharge duration becomes greater than or equal to the microwave pulse duration when the pressure is decreased. This makes reaching the critical plasma density initiate an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge during pulse of microwave gyrotron radiation with gas pressure lower than a certain threshold. In order to reduce losses of microwave power, it is necessary to shorten the time of development of the ECR discharge. For fast triggering of ECR discharge under low pressure in an ECRIS, we initially propose to fill the magnetic trap with the plasmas of auxiliary pulsed discharges in crossed ExB fields. The glow plasma trigger of ECR based on a Penning or magnetron discharge has made it possible not only to fill the trap with plasma with density of 10{sup 12} cm{sup -3}, required for a rapid increase in plasma density and finally for ECR discharge ignition, but also to initially heat the plasma electrons to T{sub e}{approx_equal}20 eV.

• OSTI ID: 22053656
• Journal Information: Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 81, Issue 2; Conference: ICIS 2009: 13. international conference on ion sources, Gatlinburg, TN (United States), 20-25 Sep 2009; Other Information: (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
CHARGE STATES
ECR ION SOURCES
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
ELECTRON CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE
EV RANGE
GHZ RANGE
HIGH-FREQUENCY DISCHARGES
ION BEAMS
MAGNETRONS
MICROWAVE AMPLIFIERS
MICROWAVE RADIATION
MULTICHARGED IONS
PENNING DISCHARGES
PLASMA
PLASMA DENSITY
PULSES
TRAPS