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In this paper, the authors examine the field emission performance of stainless steel polished to varying degrees, both before and after being coated with a nitrogen-implanted silicon oxynitride layer. The deposition procedure utilizes the simultaneous sputtering of silicon dioxide from a dielectric quartz window and ion implantation of nitrogen from an RF inductively coupled plasma. Here, the scanning field emission microscopy results indicate that prior to being coated, the number of emission sites increased drastically from 12 to more than 300 as the surface roughness increased from 4 to 64 nm, corresponding to polishing with 1-mum diamond paste to 15-mum (600 grit) silicon carbide paper. However, after being coated with nitrogen-implanted silicon oxynitride, all the samples displayed zero to five emission sites at electric field strengths at least three times higher than the uncoated stainless samples. Thus, neither the roughness of the underlying stainless steel nor that of the top surface of the coating had an effect on suppressing field emission. Depth profiling using Auger electron spectroscopy determined that the 0.24-mum-thick silicon oxynitride coating contained approximately 15% nitrogen. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of a coated silicon wafer confirmed this stoichiometry and bonding. The technical impact of this work is that coating the large contoured stainless steel surfaces with a nitrogen-implanted silicon oxynitride layer may eliminate the need for expensive labor-intensive polishing procedures currently used in high-voltage electrode structures, such as those found in electron injectors

A new THz/IR/UV photon source at Jefferson Lab is the first of a new generation of light sources based on an Energy-Recovered, (superconducting) Linac (ERL). The machine has a 160 MeV electron beam and an average current of 10 mA in 75 MHz repetition rate hundred femtosecond bunches. These electron bunches pass through a magnetic chicane and therefore emit synchrotron radiation. For wavelengths longer than the electron bunch the electrons radiate coherently a broadband THz ∼ half cycle pulse whose average brightness is >5 orders of magnitude higher than synchrotron IR sources. Previous measurements showed 20 W of average power extracted [Carr, et al., Nature 420 (2002) 153]. The new facility offers simultaneous synchrotron light from the visible through the FIR along with broadband THz production of 100 fs pulses with >200 W of average power. The FELs also provide record-breaking laser power [Neil, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 84 (2000) 662]: up to 10 kW of average power in the IR from 1 to 14 μm in 400 fs pulses at up to 74.85 MHz repetition rates and soon will produce similar pulses of 300–1000 nm light at up to 3 kW of average power from the UV FEL. These ultrashort pulses are ideal for maximizing the interaction with material surfaces. The optical beams are Gaussian with nearly perfect beam quality. See www.jlab.org/FEL for details of the operating characteristics; a wide variety of pulse train configurations are feasible from 10 ms long at high repetition rates to continuous operation. The THz and IR system has been commissioned. The UV system is to follow in 2005. The light is transported to user laboratories for basic and applied research. Additional lasers synchronized to the FEL are also available. Past activities have included production of carbon nanotubes, studies of vibrational relaxation of interstitial hydrogen in silicon, pulsed laser deposition and ablation, nitriding of metals, and energy flow in proteins. This paper will present the status of the system and discuss some of the discoveries we have made concerning the physics performance, design optimization, and operational limitations of such a first generation high power ERL light source.

2004 was the centenary of John Ambrose Fleming’s momentous patent on the thermionic diode that can be called the birth of electronics. The “Edison effect” was discovered in 1882; this was later shown to be the result of thermionic emission of electrons from a heated filament into a vacuum. Edison did not make any significant devices based on this discovery, and the effect was ignored for more than 8 years. In 1890 Fleming explained the effect and showed that the thermionic diode could be used as a rectifier. Fourteen years later Fleming filed his 1904 patent on the thermionic diode. It was the first public announcement of the electron tube; this revolutionized the development of radio and led to the invention of the thermionic triode by Lee de Forest in 1906. The background to these events will be described.

Over the last 50 years increasingly large and more sophisticated devices have been designed and put into operation for the study of particle and nuclear physics, magnetic confinement of high temperature plasmas for thermonuclear fusion research, and gravity wave observatories based on laser interferometers. The evolution of these devices has generated many developments in ultrahigh and extreme high vacuum technology that were required for these devices to meet their operational goals. The technologies that were developed included unique ultrahigh vacuum vessel structures, ultrahigh vacuum compatible materials, surface conditioning techniques, specialized vacuum pumps, and vacuum diagnostics. Associated with these technological developments are scientific advancements in the understanding of outgassing limits of UHV-compatible materials and particle-induced desorption effects.

Field-emission studies have been performed on a GaAs wafer and a sample of its stainless-steel (SS) support electrode that are part of a photocathode gun for the 10 kW Upgrade infrared free electron laser at Jefferson Lab. The objective of the studies presented here is to characterize the effect of both the cleanliness of the wafer and the plasma–source ion-implanted layer on the electrode to suppress field emission. Field emission is the limiting factor to achieve the required 6 MV/m at the surface of the wafer. Potential field emitters are first located on the surface of 1 in. diameter samples with a dc scanning field-emission microscope at 60 MV/m, then each emitter is characterized in a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer. The GaAs wafer was hydrogen cleaned before the study. The results show three emitters caused by indium contamination during wafer handling. The GaAs wafer thus shows good high-voltage characteristics and the need to maintain cleanliness during handling. The SS sample is hand polished with diamond paste to a 1 μm surface finish, then implanted with N2/SiO2 in a plasma–source ion-implantation chamber in preparation for the field-emission studies.Field-emission studies have been performed on a GaAs wafer and a sample of its stainless-steel (SS) support electrode that are part of a photocathode gun for the 10 kW Upgrade infrared free electron laser at Jefferson Lab. The objective of the studies presented here is to characterize the effect of both the cleanliness of the wafer and the plasma–source ion-implanted layer on the electrode to suppress field emission. Field emission is the limiting factor to achieve the required 6 MV/m at the surface of the wafer. Potential field emitters are first located on the surface of 1 in. diameter samples with a dc scanning field-emission microscope at 60 MV/m, then each emitter is characterized in a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer. The GaAs wafer was hydrogen cleaned before the study. The results show three emitters caused by indium contamination during wafer handling. The GaAs wafer thus shows good high-voltage characteristics and the need to maintain cleanliness durin...

A high-average power (kW) infrared (IR) free-electron laser (FEL) is currently being commissioned for the Jefferson Laboratory FEL User Facility. The IR FEL is driven by a unique superconducting rf linac which is recirculated to recover electron beam power that is not radiated in the FEL. The design and installation of the vacuum system for the FEL involved particular attention to minimizing particulate contamination which could cause problems with the superconducting acceleration cavities and the high power FEL optics. Particulate contamination levels of all vacuum components were monitored during the cleaning process using laser scattering. Cleaning, transport, and installation procedures were developed to minimize the contamination of the complete system. We will summarize a data base we compiled of particulate contamination levels of the various components installed in the FEL vacuum system.

As reported previously [1], Jefferson Lab is building a free-electron laser capable of generating a continuous wave kilowatt laser beam. The driver-accelerator consists of a superconducting, energy-recovery accelerator. The initial stage of the program was to produce over 100 W of average power with no recirculation. In order to provide maximum gain the initial wavelength was chosen to be 5 mu-m and the initial beam energy was chosen to be 38.5 MeV. On June 17, 1998, the laser produced 155 Watts cw power at the laser output with a 98% reflective output coupler. On July 28th, 311 Watts cw power was obtained using a 90% reflective output coupler. A summary of the commissioning activities to date as well as some novel lasing results will be summarized in this paper. Present work is concentrated on optimizing lasing at 5 mu-m, obtaining lasing at 3 mu-m, and commissioning the recirculation transport in preparation for kilowatt lasing this fall.

A design has been established for IR and UV FELs within the Laser Processing Consortium's (LPC) program for development and application of high-average-power FELs for materials processing. Hardware prototyping and testing for the IR portion of the system are underway. The driver portion has been designed based on the superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) technology now seeing large-scale application in the commissioning of CEBAF, the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, where LPC activities are centered. As of July 1994, measurements of beam performance confirm SRF's benefits in beam quality and stability, which are applicable to high-average-power FELs.

Numerous measurements of outgassing from metal surfaces show that the outgassing obeys a power law of the form Q=Q10t−α, where α is typically near unity. For unbaked systems, outgassing is dominated by water. This work demonstrates that α is a function of the water vapor exposure during venting of the system, and the physical properties of the passivation oxide layer on the surface. An analytic expression for the outgassing rate is derived based on the assumption that the rate of water diffusing through the passivation oxide layer to the surface governs the rate of its release into the vacuum. The source distribution function for the desorbing water is assumed to be a combination of a Gaussian distribution centered at the interior surface driven by atmospheric exposure, and a uniform concentration throughout the bulk. We have measured the outgassing rate from a clean stainless‐steel (type 304) chamber as a function of water exposure to the chamber surface from

The design for the BPX power and particle handling system consists of a double-null (DN) poloidal divertor with an inner-wall bumper limiter. In addition, a substantial portion of the remainder of the inside of the torus is covered with graphite tiles to withstand high heat flux. In divertor operating modes, the diverted plasma is swept across the divertor plates to reduce the time-average heat loads on the plates. The poloidal divertor is designed both to provide access to H-mode operation and to ensure high recycling in the divertor region, which minimizes impurity production and consequent contamination of the main plasma. The device is capable of both single-null (SN) and DN divertor operation. In addition, an inner bumper limiter is designed to provide an alternative to divertor operation. Additional toroidally and/or poloidally localized limiters are provided on the outboard wall for plasma startup and for protection of the radio-frequency (RF) antennas. In this paper the distribution of plasma power on the first-wall components is discussed. Power handling and the choice of material for the divertor plates and limiters is discussed. A discussion is included of the surface temperature limits and erosion mechanisms. The effect of disruptions on the plasma-facing components follows.more » Finally, tritium retention and particle pumping issues related to the choice of graphite as the first-wall material are discussed.« less

Under some conditions, a very large influx of carbon into TFTR occurs during neutral beam injection into low recycling plasmas (the supershot regime). These carbon 'blooms' result in serious degradation of plasma parameters. The sources of this carbon have been identified as hot spots on the TFTR bumper limiter at or near the last closed flux surface. Two separate temperature thresholds have been identified. One threshold, at about 1650°C, is consistent with radiation enhanced sublimation (RES). The other, at about 2300°C, appears to be thermal sublimation of carbon from the limiter. The carbon influx can be quantitatively accounted for by taking laboratory values for RES rates, making reasonable assumptions about the extent of the blooming area and assuming unity carbon recycling at the limiter. Such high carbon recycling is expected, and it is shown that, in target plasmas at least, it is observed on TFTR. The sources of the carbon blooms are sites which have either loosely attached fragments of limiter material (caused by damage) or surfaces that are nearly perpendicular to the magnetic field lines. Such surfaces may have local power depositions two orders of magnitude higher than usual. The TFTR team modified the limiter during the opening of winter 1989–1990. The modifications greatly reduced the number and magnitude of the blooms, so that they are no longer a problem.

In the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) [Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 26, 11 (1984)], the highest neutron source strength Sn and D–D fusion power gain QDD are realized in the neutral‐beam‐fueled and heated ‘‘supershot’’ regime that occurs after extensive wall conditioning to minimize recycling. For the best supershots, Sn increases approximately as P1.8b. The highest‐Q shots are characterized by high Te (up to 12 keV), Ti (up to 34 keV), and stored energy (up to 4.7 MJ), highly peaked density profiles, broad Te profiles, and lower Zeff. Replacement of critical areas of the graphite limiter tiles with carbon‐fiber composite tiles and improved alignment with the plasma have mitigated the ‘‘carbon bloom.’’ Wall conditioning by lithium pellet injection prior to the beam pulse reduces carbon influx and particle recycling. Empirically, QDD increases with decreasing pre‐injection carbon radiation, and increases strongly with density peakedness [ne(0)/〈ne〉] during the beam pulse. To date, the best fusion resu...

Measurements by moveable Langmuir probes and edge spectroscopy diagnostics have documented the conditioning effect of low density helium-initiated discharge sequences on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) edge plasma. Langmuir probe measurements show in general that the edge electron density n{sub e} decreases by less than a factor of 2 while the edge electron temperature T{sub e} doubles. Radial profiles to the plasma boundary show that the density scrape-off length increases somewhat while the temperature scrape-off length decreases substantially. The particle flux density is unaffected. The spectral emission of C 2 decreases by a factor of 2, a much smaller change than that exhibited by the D{sub {alpha}} signal. These results complement previous accounts of the conditioning technique. Comparisons of these He conditioning measurements are made to edge measurements during a deuterium density scan experiment, showing many similarities, and to an existing edge model of the conditioning process, showing qualitative agreement. 20 refs., 5 figs.

The Jefferson Lab (JLab) 10 kW IR Upgrade FEL DC GaAs photocathode gun is presently the highest average current electron source operational in the U.S., delivering a record 9.1 mA CW, 350 kV electron beam with 122 pC/bunch at 75 MHz rep rate. Pulsed operation has also been demonstrated with 8 mA per pulse (110 pC/bunch) in 16 ms-long pulses at 2 Hz rep rate. Routinely the gun delivers 5 mA CW and pulse current at 135 pC/bunch for FEL operations. The Upgrade DC photocathode gun is a direct evolution of the DC photocathode gun used in the previous JLab 1 kW IR Demo FEL. Improvements in the vacuum conditions, incorporation of two UHV motion mechanisms (a retractable cathode and a photocathode shield door) and a new way to add cesium to the GaAs photocathode surface have extended its lifetime to over 500 Coulombs delivered between re-cesiations (quantum efficiency replenishment). With each photocathode activation quantum efficiencies above 6% are routinely achieved. The photocathode activation and performance will be described in detail.

We describe a > 100 Watt broadband THz source that takes advantage of the relativistic enhancement of the radiation from accelerating electrons according to the formula assigned the name of Sir Joseph Larmor[1, 2]. This is in contrast to the typical 1 milliwatt sources available in a laboratory. Specifically, for relativistic electrons the emission is enhanced by the fourth power of the increase in mass. Thus for 100 MeV electrons, for which the mass increases by a factor of ∼ 200, the enhancement is > 109. The experiments use a new generation of light source called an energy recovery linac (ERL) [3], in which bunches of electrons circulate once, but in which their energy is recovered. In such a machine the electron bunches can be very much shorter than those, say, in storage rings or synchrotrons.The Jefferson Lab facility operates in new limits of emission from relativistic particles involving both multiparticle coherence and near-field emission in which the velocity (Coulomb) term in the classical electrodynamical theory becomes as important as the acceleration term (synchrotron radiation).The sub-picosecond pulses of light offer unique capabilities in 2 specific areas, namely time-resolved dynamics, and imaging. High resolution THz spectroscopy has recently revealed sharp vibrational modes for many materials including malignant tissue, proteins, DNA, pharmaceuticals and explosive materials. Energetically the THz range embraces superconducting bandgaps, and regions of intense interest in the understanding of systems in which correlated motions of electrons are important, such as colossal magneto-resistive and high-Tc materials. The very high power levels of the new source will allow non-linear effects to be observed as well as the creation of novel states of materials, including electric-field driven localization[4]. We will give examples of existing work in these areas and present opportunities afforded by the new source.

We report initial lasing results from the IR Upgrade FEL at Jefferson Lab (Proceedings: 2001 Particle Accelerator Conference, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 2001). The electron accelerator was operated with low average current beam at 80 MeV. The time structure of the beam was 120 pC bunches at 4.678MHz with up to 750 µs pulses at 2 Hz. Lasing was established over the entire wavelength range of the mirrors (5.5-6.6 µm). The detuning curve length, turn-on time, and power were in agreement with modeling results assuming a 1 ps FWHM micropulse. The same model predicts over 10kW of power output with 10mA of beam and 10% output coupling, which is the ultimate design goal of the IR Upgrade FEL. The behavior of the laser while the dispersion section strength was varied was found to qualitatively match predictions. Initial CW lasing results also will be presented.

The kW‐class infrared (IR) Free Electron Laser (FEL) at Jefferson Lab had the capability of producing intracavity Thomson scattering of the IR off the electron beam thus producing high average flux, sub‐picosecond x‐rays. We have measured these x‐rays and demonstrated the energy tuneability range from 3.5 keV to 18 keV. The corresponding flux and brightness has been estimated and will be discussed. This year, 2002, the FEL was disassembled and has been reconfigured to produce 10 kW average power IR. We present the estimated x‐ray capabilities for the new FEL and discuss potential applications.

The number of installed and operational /spl beta/=1 superconducting RF cavities has grown significantly over the last two years in accelerator laboratories in Europe, Japan and the U.S. The total installed acceleration capability as of mid-1993 is approximately 1 GeV at nominal gradients. Major installations at CERN, DESY, KEK and CEBAF have provided large increments to the installed base and valuable operational experience. A selection of test data and operational experience gathered to date is reviewed. >

High-performance superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities are placed under UHV and low particulate conditions when they go through the surface treatment process, and are kept under these conditions permanently thereafter, both before and during use in the accelerator. The outgassing of the gasket material in the gate valves and the outgassing of the solvents that come in contact with the gasket and the cavity surfaces determine the ultimate pressure that can be obtained in the cavity. A systematic study of gaskets and various solvents was undertaken in order to understand the conditions that lead to a low ultimate pressure in a short period of time. The results with Kalrez, Viton O-rings and solvents like methanol, acetone, isopropyl and freon will be presented. Also, we discuss the effect of a slow or fast initial pumpdown in order to prevent the settlement of particulates due to condensation. >

CEBAF has developed a comprehensive conceptual design of an industrial user facility based on a kilowatt UV (150-1000 nm) and IR (2-25 micron) FEL driven by a recirculating, energy-recovering 200 MeV superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) accelerator. FEL users-CEBAF's partners in the Laser Processing Consortium, including AT&T, DuPont, IBM, Northrop-Grumman, 3M, and Xerox-plan to develop applications such as polymer surface processing, metals and ceramics micromachining, and metal surface processing, with the overall effort leading to later scale-up to industrial systems at 50-100 kW. Representative applications are described. The proposed high-average-power FEL overcomes limitations of conventional laser sources in available power, cost-effectiveness, tunability and pulse structure.

We have developed a conceptual design for an industrial-use kilowatt UV and IR FEL driven by a recirculating, energy-recovering 200 MeV, 1-5 mA superconducting rf (SRF) electron accelerator. In this paper we describe the accelerator design of this FEL. The accelerator consists of a 10 MeV injector, a 96 MeV SRF linac with a two-pass transport which accelerates the beam to 200 MeV, followed by energy-recovery deceleration through two passes to the dump. Technical challenges include high-intensity injector development, multi-pass energy-recovery operation, SRF modifications and control for FEL operation, development of tuneable, nearly-isochronous, large-acceptance transports, and matching of the beam to the FEL wiggler. An overview of the accelerator design is presented.

Jefferson Lab is planning a facility for studying ultrafast dynamical processes using a 1 kW average power IR/UV FEL, and a mode-locked Ti-sapphire femtosecond laser in the visible, combined with a 1 nm critical wavelength electron storage ring. Light pulses from the three sources will be synchronized at 125 MHz for pump-probe studies (including pump-pump-probe and pump-probe-probe options) in chemistry, physics, materials science, medicine and biology. The FEL operates with pulses as short as 300 femtoseconds (/spl sigma/), which will provide the narrow bandwidth pump at high peak as well as average power. The FEL is currently operating and will soon be upgraded to operate at up to 10 kilowatt average power at an extended wavelength range from 300 nm to 10,000 nm. A compact superconducting storage ring, Helios-1, has recently been donated to Jefferson Lab that has a critical wavelength of 10 /spl Aring/ and is capable of storing currents up to 800 mA. In addition to providing spectroscopy capabilities, the storage ring will also support exploratory X-ray lithography R&D, including a precision stepper-aligner for training purposes. The facility, which is expected to become available in 2004, will be described and the capabilities detailed.

Recent work at Jefferson Lab has demonstrated the viability of same-cell energy recovery as a basis for a high average power free-electron laser (FEL). We are now extending this technique to lase at average powers in excess of 10 kW in the infrared. This upgrade will also produce over 1 kW in the UV and generate high brightness Thomson back-scattered X-rays. The power increase will be achieved by increasing the electron beam energy by a factor of four, and the beam current and the FEL design efficiency by a factor of two. Utilization of a near-concentric optical cavity is enabled by the use of very low loss state-of-the-art coatings. The FEL will be placed in the return leg of the electron beam transport, giving a machine footprint quite similar to that of the existing 1 kW IR device. Some features of the upgrade are straightforward extensions of those in the present 1 kW design; others break new ground and present new challenges. These will be described. The required electron beam parameters and the laser performance estimates will be summarized. Changes required in the electron beam transport will be outlined and the optical cavity design briefly reviewed.

Field emission is one of the principal phenomena limiting the operating voltage of practical electron guns. There is interest in developing photoemission cathode based DC electron guns employing cathode field strengths and cathode-anode voltages well above the present state-of-the-art. Such electron sources could provide high brightness, high average current beams for energy recovered superconducting linear accelerators, for applications in next generation light sources, electron cooling, and electron-ion colliders. We have studied the effect of plasma-source ion implantation on the field emission behavior of large area stainless steel electrodes. Our apparatus allows the operation of disc-shaped electrode pairs with 100 cm/sup 2/ uniform field area to 125 kV. The cathode electrode is biased at high voltage, and the anode is electrically isolated, allowing measurement of the field emission current. Electrodes were either mechanically polished, or implanted with nitrogen ions. Two separate ion implanted electrodes have shown negligible field emission at 20 MV/m, and emission between 0.5 and 1.8 pA/cm/sup 2/ during multi-hour runs at 30 MV/m. These electrodes show very little conditioning effect.

Previously we presented a design for a kiloWatt demonstration industrial UV FEL. Progress has been made in resolving several design issues identified in that work. More exact simulations of the injector have resulted in a better estimate of the injector performance. A more compact lattice has been designed meeting the design requirements for the UV FEL, and a new design point has been studied which greatly increases the threshold for longitudinal instabilities. A stability analysis of the RF control system has found that only minor modifications from existing CEBAF controls will be necessary to allow them to be used with a high-current, energy-recovery accelerator. Designs for the optical cavity length and figure systems have been conceptualized and a model of the corner-cube resonator is being built and tested. Finally, three-dimensional simulations of the FEL have been carried out which show that the laser should exceed its minimum design goals for average power. This work was supported by the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology and DOE Contract #DE-AC05-84ER40150.

In response to requirements for national laboratory technology transfer, CEBAF has proposed an industrial R&D initiative: a Free Electron Laser (FEL) User Facility based on an infrared FEL and an ultraviolet FEL, with the injector and the north linac of the CEBAF superconducting, recirculating accelerator serving as drivers. The initiative is a collaborative effort with four U.S. corporate partners and capitalizes on CEBAF’s superconducting rf technology. The FELs will provide monochromatic, tunable (3.6 to 1.7 μm and 150 to 260 nm), high‐average‐power (‐kW) light for technical applications and basic science studies. FEL capabilities will be competitive with those of similar initiatives worldwide. FEL operation will not impair beam delivered to CEBAF’s nuclear physics experiments. Substational commitments are in hand from the industray partners and the Commonwealth of Virgina for cost‐sharing the project with the Federal Government.

RF plasma‐assisted CVD and sputter deposition of amorphous boron‐carbon layers similar to those being used in the TFTR tokamak at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory have been performed. The initial stoichiometry has been determined using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and elastic recoil detection. Films have also been implanted with deuterium in order to determine H‐isotope pumping capacity. These studies, in addition to characterizations made of layers collected on probes in TFTR, have been used to optimize the boronization parameters and to better understand the effects of boronization on TFTR.

Hydrogen‐ and deuterium‐fueled glow discharges are used for the initial conditioning of magnetic fusion device vacuum vessels following evacuation from atmospheric pressure. Hydrogenic glow discharge conditioning (GDC) significantly reduces the near‐surface concentration of simple adsorbates such as H2O, CO, and CH4, and lowers ion‐induced desorption coefficients by typically three orders of magnitude. The time evolution of the residual gas production observed during hydrogen‐glow discharge conditioning of the carbon first‐wall structure of the TFTR device is similar to the time evolution observed during hydrogen GDC of the initial first‐wall configuration in TFTR, which was primarily stainless steel. Recently, helium GDC has been investigated for several wall‐conditioning tasks on a number of tokamaks including TFTR. Helium GDC shows negligible impurity removal with stainless steel walls. For impurity conditioning with carbon walls, helium GDC shows significant desorption of H2O, CO, and CO2; however, the total desorption yield is limited to the monolayer range. In addition, helium GDC can be used to displace hydrogen isotopes from the near‐surface region of carbon first‐walls in order to lower hydrogenic retention and recycling.

A Free Electron Laser (FEL) called the IR Demo is operational as a user facility at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia, USA. It utilizes a 48 MeV superconducting accelerator that not only accelerates the beam but also recovers about 80% of the electron–beam power that remains after the FEL interaction. Utilizing this recirculation loop the machine has recovered cw average currents up to 5 mA, and has lased cw above 2 kW output at 3.1 microns. It is capable of output in the 1 to 6 micron range and can produce ~0.7 ps pulses in a continuous train at ~75 MHz. This pulse length has been shown to be nearly optimal for deposition of energy in materials at the surface. Upgrades under construction will extend operation beyond 10 kW average power in the near IR and produce multi-kilowatt levels of power from 0.3 to 25 microns. This talk will cover the performance measurements of this groundbreaking laser, scaling in near-term planned upgrades, and highlight some of the user activities at the facility.

A particle scoop limiter with a graphite face backed by a 50 liter volume for collecting particles was used in PDX. Experiments were performed to test its particle control and power handling capabilities with up to 5 MW of D° power injected into D+ plasmas. Line average plasma densities of up to 8 × 1013 cm−3 and currents up to 450 kA were obtained. Plasma densities in the scoop channels greater than 2 × 1013 cm−3 and neutral densities in the scoop volume greater than 5 × 1014 cm−3 were observed. There is evidence that recycling may have occurred in the scoop channels for several discharges with large line-averaged plasma density. At beam powers up to 2.5 MW, energy confinement times above 40 ms were deduced from magnetics measurements and from transport analysis. Pressures in the vacuum vessel were in the 10 −5 Torr range, and recycling source neutral densities in the central plasma were low.

We routinely use quadrupole mass spectrometers (QMS) to monitor vacuum conditions, gas purity, and plasma–wall interactions in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) at Princeton. Two QMS systems have been operating on TFTR continuously for a 2 year period. Both QMS systems are absolutely calibrated at weekly intervals using a six‐part standard gas mixture. The calibration procedure is based on the use of transfer standards (ion gauge and capacitance manometer) that are calibrated against a primary standard (spinning rotor gauge) on an external vacuum system. We have identified variations in the efficiency of the QMS ionizer and drifts in the sensitivity of the electron multiplier ion detector to be the major reasons for the observed changes in overall QMS sensitivity. Weekly variations in sensitivity greater than 100% have been observed following system bakeout at 150 °C and with the use of rhenium filaments which were initially in the QMS ionizer. Operation of the QMS system with tungsten filaments and ...

The conditioning techniques applied to the TFTR first-wall configuration that will be in place for the DT experiments in 1990–1991 are reviewed. Of primary interest is the helium conditioning procedure that was developed to control hydrogenic recycling from the graphite, inner-wall bumper limiter. Operation of TFTR over the plasma density range for gas-fueled ohmic plasmas, ne = (2–5) × 1019m−3, typically results in hydrogenic recycling coefficients near unity. The use of the helium conditioning procedure produced recycling coefficients as low as 0.5, and decreased the minimum ohmic plasma density to ne = 0.5 × 1019m−3 at IP = 0.8 MA. Low density ohmic target plasmas with low recycling conditions are prerequisite conditions for the enhanced confinement (e.g., “supershot”), neutral-beam-heated discharges observed in TFTR during 1986–1987, which is the primary mode being considered for study in the DT experiments. The recycling changes induced by the helium conditioning procedure are believed to be the result of a plasma pumping effect in the graphite induced by He and C ion desorption of hydrogenic species from the near-surface (< 20 nm) layer of the limiter. The capacity of the conditioned limiter to pump gas-fueled, pellet-fueled, and neutral-beam-fueled discharges is compared. The helium conditioning technique is also beneficial for isotopic exchange and for minimizing the in-vessel tritium inventory.

Lower limits for time-resolved anti B-parallel impurity fluxes to solid collectors immersed in the PLT edge plasma have been determined as a function of minor radius. Using geometric shadowing of the probe surface, features attributed to finite ion gyroradii have been observed. Also, for r less than 48 cm, heat pulses of less than 2 ms duration and greater than 2.5 x 10/sup 3/ W/cm/sup 2/ intensity were found to occur at the termination of many discharges.

A review is given of glow discharge techniques which are useful for conditioning vacuum vessels for high‐vacuum applications. Substantial development of glow discharge techniques has been done for the purpose of in situ conditioning of the large ultrahigh vacuum systems for particle accelerators and magnetic fusion devices. In these applications the glow discharge treatments remove impurities from vessel surfaces in order to minimize particle‐induced desorption coefficients. Cleaning mechanisms involve a mixture of sputtering and ion(or neutral)‐induced desorption effects depending on the gas mixture (Ar/O2 vs H2) and excitation method (dc, rf, and electron cyclotron resonance). The author will review the methodology of glow discharge conditioning, diagnostic measurements provided by residual gas and surface composition analysis, and applications to vessel conditioning and materials processing.

Neutral-beam heating of plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at low preinjection densities (n/sub e/(0)approx. =10/sup 19/ m/sup -3/) were characterized by T/sub e/(0) = 6.5 keV, T/sub i/(0) = 20 keV, n/sub e/(0) = 7 x 10/sup 19/ m/sup -3/, tau/sub E/ = 170 msec, ..beta../sub t//sub h//sub e//sub t//sub a/ = 2, and a d(d,n)/sup 3/He neutron emission rate of 10/sup 16/ sec/sup -1/. The ion temperature and the deuterium-fusion neutron yields were significantly higher than for previous tokamak experiments. The low initial densities were achieved by operation of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor with low plasma currents (less than or equal to1 MA) and by extensive limiter conditioning.

A progress report on the experimental studies of vacuum vessel conditioning during the first year of TFTR operation is presented. A previous paper described the efforts expended to condition the TFTR vessel prior to and during the initial plasma start-up experiments. During the start-up phase, discharge cleaning was performed with the vessel at room temperature. For the second phase of TFTR operations, which was directed towards the optimization of ohmically-heated plasmas, the vacuum vessel could be heated to 150°C. The internal configuration of the TFTR vessel was more complex during the second phase with the addition of a TiC/C moveable limiter array, inconel bellows cover plates, and ZrAl getter pumps. A quantitative comparison is given on the effectiveness of vessel bakeout, glow discharge cleaning, and pulse discharge cleaning in terms of total quantity of removed carbon and oxygen, residual gas base pressures and the resulting plasma impurity levels as measured by visible, UV and soft X-ray spectroscopy. The initial experience with hydrogen isotope changeover in TFTR is presented including the results of the attempt to hasten the changeover-time by using a glow discharge to precondition the vessel with the new isotope.

During the 1987 run, TFTR reached record values of QDD, neutron source strength, and Ti(0). Good confinement together with intense auxiliary heating has resulted in a plasma pressure greater than 3*105 Pascals on axis, which is at the ballooning stability boundary. At the same time improved diagnostics, especially ion temperature profile measurements, have led to increased understanding of tokamak confinement physics. Ion temperature profiles are much more peaked than previously thought, implying that ion thermal diffusivity, even in high ion temperature supershot plasmas, is greater than electron thermal diffusivity. Based on studies of the effect of beam orientation on plasma performance, one of the four neutral beamlines has been re-oriented from injecting co-parallel to counter parallel, which will increase the available balanced neutral injection power from 14 MW to 27 MW. With this increase in balanced beam power, and the addition of 7 MW of ICRF power it is planned to increase the present equivalant QDT of 0.25 to close to break-even conditions in the coming run.

Measurements of the gas fueling characteristics of the PDX tokamak have been extended in parameter range. An earlier study presented the gas fueling efficiency for H/sub 2/ and D/sub 2/ for the standard PDX divertor configurations with a large conductance between the divertor and main plasma chambers. This study presents the observed variations in H/sub 2/, D/sub 2/, and He neutral pressure and ionization light emission for divertor configurations with a restricted conductance between the divertor and main plasma chambers. The restricted conductance improved the divertor/main-chamber compression ratio by more than an order of magnitude. For the same plasma density, gas fueling from the divertor chamber was twice as efficient as fueling from the main chamber. At the highest plasma densities that were investigated, anti n/sub e/ approx. = 4 x 10/sup 13/ cm/sup -3/, a decrease in the plasma temperature in the divertor was indicated by a decrease in the ionization light at the divertor throat for D/sub 2/ and He fueled discharges. These observations are consistent with a Monte-Carlo model of neutral gas transport in the divertor.

Accurate pressure measurements are important in magnetic fusion devices for: (1) plasma diagnostic measurements of particle balance and ion temperature; (2) discharge cleaning optimization; (3) vacuum system performance; and (4) tritium accountability. This paper reviews the application, required accuracy, and suitable instrumentation for these measurements. Demonstrated uses of ionization‐type and capacitance–diaphragm gauges for various pressure and gas‐flow measurements in tokamaks are presented, with specific reference to the effects of magnetic fields on gauge performance and the problems associated with gauge calibration.

Recent experiments on TFTR have extended the operating regime of TFTR in both ohmic- and neutral-beam -heated discharges. The TFTR tokamak has reached its original machine-design specifications ( I p = 2.5 MA and B T = 5.2 T). Initial neutral-beam -heating experiments used up to 6.3 MW of deuterium beams. With the recent installation of two additional beamlines, the power has been increased up to 11 MW. A deuterium pellet injector was used to increase the central density to 2.5 x 10 20 m -3 in high-current discharges. At the opposite extreme, by operating at low plasm a current ( I p ~ 0.8 MA) and low density ( n e~ 1 x 10 19 m -3 ), high ion temperatures (9 + 2 keV) and rotation speeds (7 x 10 5 m s -1 ) have been achieved during injection. In addition, plasma-compression experiments have demonstrated acceleration of beam ions from 82 to 150 keV, in accord with expectations. The wide operating range of TFTR, together with an extensive set of diagnostics and a flexible control system, has facilitated transport and scaling studies of both ohmic- and neutral-beam -heated discharges. The result of these confinement studies are presented.

In--situ measurements are reported of the changes in surface composition of 305 stainless steel exposed to the first plasma discharges in PLT. Auger electron spectroscopy of pre-exposure surfaces shows a multilayer coverage of carbon and a fractional monolayer coverage of oxygen. Surfaces subjected to increasing levels of plasma exposure show substantial removal of the carbon multilayer, increased fractional-monolayer coverages of oxygen and iron, and tenth-monolayer quantities of chlorine and sulfur. (auth)

This paper gives a brief description of the geometry and parameters of the PLT tokamak, reviews some of the last four years' results that are particularly relevant to plasma-boundary interactions, and then concentrates on two specific problems.

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) is scheduled to begin DT operation in 1990 with the on-site tritium inventory limited to 5 grams. The physics and chemistry of the in-vessel tritium inventory will impact safety concerns, and also the entire operating schedule of the tokamak. We have investigated plasma-material interaction processes that will affect this first tritium-fueled tokamak. Tritium inventory estimates for TFTR are derived from: (1) laboratory simulation, (2) in-situ plasma measurements, (3) post-run surface analysis, and (4) modeling. This paper presents the results of these investigations, the derivation of a tritium inventory estimate and its uncertainties, and a discussion of its impact. A particular discharge-by-discharge operating schedule has been developed and evaluated. The major source of in-vessel tritium inventory will be codeposition of tritium and eroded carbon onto surfaces. We find that the on-site limit may be approached unless specific inventory reduction techniques are invoked, e.g., discharge cleaning.

Carbon samples were exposed to the plasma edge in the PLT tokamak at various distances from the plasma. The amount of deuterium retained was subsequently determined using nuclear reaction analysis. The deuterium retention was found to saturate with increasing exposure time. Values for the energies and fluxes of the deuterium incident on the samples were determined by comparing the observed retention behavior with a saturation model for the retention. The deuterium fluxes and energies were found to decrease from o~4 × 1017 D/cm2 s and kT~270 eV at the radius of the limiter to o~0.8 × 1017 D/cm2 s and kT~90 eV at the radius of the wall. At these energies the fraction of the incident deuterium directly reflected from carbon is predicted to be 30 to 40%. From the deuterium energies and fluxes, values for the power flux and erosion rates are estimated.

This paper presents a summary of plasma-material interactions which influence the operation of TFTR with high current (≤ 2.2 MA) ohmically heated, and high-power (∼ 10 MW) neutral-beam heated plasmas. The conditioning procedures which are applied routinely to the first-wall hardware are reviewed. Fueling characteristics during gas, pellet, and neutral-beam fueling are described. Recycling coefficients near unity are observed for most gas fueled discharges. Gas fueled discharges after helium discharge conditioning of the toroidal bumper limiter, and discharges fueled by neutral beams and pellets, show R

A variety of conditioning techniques have been applied to tokamaks to control low Z impurities originating from vacuum vessel surface contaminants and to modify working gas recycling properties. After chemical or physical treatment of the vacuum vessel hardware, in-situ vacuum vessel treatments are usually applied, including: (1) vacuum baking; (2) discharge cleaning; and (3) gettering. As the magnetic fusion program moves to the next generation of large test reactors, the implementation of any of the above techniques becomes a costly procedure. It is therefore prudent to understand the mechanisms and physical-chemical effects of a particular conditioning procedure and maximize the efficiency. A review is given of the present understanding of the physical mechanisms, the resulting surface effects, and benefits to plasma performance of the various conditioning procedures. Particular attention is given to the application of hydrogen glow discharge cleaning and the use of titanium gettering as conditioning procedures.

The analysis of isotopes of hydrogen (H,D,T) and helium (3He,4He) and selected impurities using a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) has been investigated as a method of measuring the purity of tritium gas for injection into the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). A QMS was used at low resolution, m/Δm

The paper describes the present (end of February 1985) status of the plasma confinement studies in the TFTR tokamak with emphasis on those with neutral beam injection (NBI). Recent improvements in the device capabilities have substantially extended operating parameters: B /sub T/ increased to 4.0 T, I /sub p/ to 2.0 MA, injection power (P /sub b/ ) to /sup 5/ MW with H/sup 0/ or D/sup 0/ beams, n /sub e/ to 5 x 10/sup 19/ m/sup -3/ and Z /sub eff/ reduced to 1.4. With ohmic heating (OH) alone, the previously established scaling for gross energy confinement time (T /sub E/ /sup 0/ n /sub e/ q) has been confirmed at higher I /sub p/ and B /sub T/ , and the maximum T /sub E/ of 0.4 sec has been achieved. With NBI at P /sub b/ substantially (by factor > 2) higher than P /sub OH/ , excellent power and particle accountability have been established. This suggest that the less-than-expected increase in stored energy with NBI is not due to problems of power delivery, but due to problems of confinement deterioration. T /sub E/ is observed to scale approximately as I /sub p/ P /sub b/more » /sup 0.5/ (independent of n /sub e/ ), consistent with previous L-mode scalings. With NBI we have achieved the maximum T /sub E/ of 0.2 s and the maximum T /sub i/ (o) of 4.4 keV in the normal operating regime, and even higher T /sub i/ (o) in the energetic-ion regime with low-n /sub e/ and low I /sub p/ operation.« less

Hydrogen discharge cleaning of the PLT vacuum vessel has been studied by mass spectroscopy of desorbed gases and surface analysis of exposed samples. Several modes of vessel conditioning have been studied to date: (1) a high‐power discharge cleaning (PDC) mode, with a peak power density to the vessel wall Ps∠0.6 W/cm2 and a peak electron temperature Te∠100 eV; (2) low‐power (Taylor‐type) discharge cleaning (TDC) with Ps∠0.05 W/cm2 and Te?5 eV. The predominant residual gases produced during PDC are CH4 (1–5×10−6 Torr) and CO (1–10×10−7 Torr), whereas TDC produced primarily H2O (1–2×10−6 Torr) and CH4 (1‐10×10−7 Torr). The transient behavior of the residual gases is not simply related to pumping time constants, and provides evidence for the role of surface chemical reactions and diffusion on the formation of these gases. In situ surface analysis of hydrocarbon‐covered stainless steel has shown significant decreases in carbon coverage occurring after 103–104 pulses of either cleaning mode. Observed changes i...