Title: Ion cyclotron heating at high plasma density in Proto-MPEX

Abstract

The physics of ion cyclotron heating (ICH) relevant to the steady-state linear machine MPEX (Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment) has been explored in its predecessor, short-pulse device: Proto-MPEX. MPEX will utilize fundamental ICH to increase heat flux at the target and produce ion temperatures and velocity distributions with improved fidelity to those found in a tokamak divertor region, in comparison to those produced by substrate biasing. In the experiments on Proto-MPEX described here, bulk ion temperatures up to ~15 eV have been achieved with 20 kW net ICH power at 6.5 MHz, using ICH heating of a deuterium plasma produced by a helicon plasma source. The heat flux at the target has been observed to increase throughout the plasma cross section, including in the core region. Core $$T_i$$ and target heat flux are observed to scale linearly with injected ICH power. Further, measurements of plasma loading and target heat flux as a function of the magnetic field strength at the antenna, together with modeling of the wave propagation from the antenna to the ion cyclotron resonance using the ANTENA and COMSOL codes with a warm plasma dielectric tensor, indicate that power is coupled to the core plasma via fast wave excitation of a kinetic Alfvén wave.

Authors:

Goulding, Richard H.  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Goulding, Richard H."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-1776-7983"

Lau, Cornwall H.  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-8576-5867"

Piotrowicz, Pawel A.  ^[2];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-7871-6971"

Beers, Clyde J.  ^[3];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-5098-5459"

Biewer, Theodore M.  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-7456-3509"

Caneses Marin, Juan F.  ^[4];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-6123-2081"

Caughman, John B.  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-0609-1164"

Kafle, Nischal  ^[5];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-8144-787X"

Rapp, Juergen  ^[1]

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-2785-9280"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
2. Noon Energy, Palo Alto, CA (United States)
3. Zap Energy, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States)
4. CompX, Del Mar, CA (United States)
5. TAE Technologies, Inc., Foothill Ranch, CA (United States)

Publication Date:

Thu Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2023

Research Org.:

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)

OSTI Identifier:

1928961

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1909068

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC05-00OR22725

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Physics of Plasmas

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 30; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X

Publisher:

American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; Plasma waves; Plasma sources; Plasma heating; Wave propagation; Plasma properties and parameters; Plasma diagnostics