Simulation Study of an Extended Density DC Glow Toroidal Plasma Source
- Instituto Tecnologico de Toluca, Apartado Postal 890, Toluca (Mexico)
- Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Apartado Postal 18-1027, C. P. 11801, Mexico D. F. (Mexico)
Conventional wisdom assigns the DC glow discharge regime to plasma currents below {approx}500 mA values, beyond which the discharge falls into the anomalous glow and the turbulent arc regimes. However, we have found evidence that, during toroidal discharges, this barrier can be ostensibly extended up to 800 mA. Thus, a computer simulation has been applied to the evolution of the main electrical characteristics of such a glow discharge plasma in a toroidal vessel in order to design and construct a respective voltage/current controlled source. This should be able to generate a DC plasma in the glow regime with which currents in the range 10-3-100 A can be experimented and 109-1010 cm-3 plasma densities can be achieved to PIII optimization purposes. The plasma is modelled as a voltage-controlled current source able to be turned on whenever the breakdown voltage is reached across the gap between the anode and the vessel wall. The simulation outcome fits well our experimental measurements showing that the plasma current obeys power laws that are dependent on the power current and other control variables such as the gas pressure.
- OSTI ID:
- 20898797
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 875, Issue 1; Conference: 16. IAEA technical meeting on research using small fusion devices; 11. Latin American workshop on plasma physics, Mexico City (Mexico), 30 Nov - 3 Dec 2005; 5-9 Dec 2005; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2405929; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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