Search

The Materials Analysis and Particle Probe (MAPP) is a compact in vacuo surface science diagnostic, designed to provide in situ surface characterization of plasma facing components in a tokamak environment. MAPP has been implemented for operation on the Lithium Tokamak Experiment at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), where all control and analysis systems are currently under development for full remote operation. Control systems include vacuum management, instrument power, and translational/rotational probe drive. Analysis systems include onboard Langmuir probes and all components required for x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy ion scattering spectroscopy, direct recoil spectroscopy, and thermal desorption spectroscopy surface analysis techniques.

Flux surface shape information can be used to constrain the current profile for reconstruction of the plasma equilibrium. One method of inferring flux surface shape relies on plasma x-ray emission; however, deviations from the flux surfaces due to impurity and density asymmetries complicate the interpretation. Electron isotherm surfaces should correspond well to the plasma flux surfaces, and equilibrium constraint modeling using this isotherm information constrains the current profile. The KFIT code is used to assess the profile uncertainty and to optimize the number, location and SNR required for the Te detectors. As Te imaging detectors we consider tangentially viewing, vertically spaced, linear gas electron multiplier arrays operated in pulse height analysis (PHA) mode and multifoil soft x-ray arrays. Isoflux coordinate sets provided by Te measurements offer a strong constraint on the equilibrium reconstruction in both a stacked horizontal array configuration and a crossed horizontal and vertical beam ...

A prototype pulsed supersonic gas injector (SGI) has been developed for the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Experiments in NSTX will explore the compatibility of the supersonic gas jet fueling with the H-mode plasma edge, edge localized mode control, edge magnetohydrodynamic stability, radio frequency heating scenarios, and start-up scenarios with a fast plasma density ramp up. The diagnostic applications include localized impurity gas injections for transport and turbulence experiments and edge helium spectroscopy for edge Te and ne profile measurements. Nozzle and gas injector design considerations are presented and four types of supersonic nozzles are discussed. The prototype SGI operates at room temperature. It is comprised of a small graphite Laval nozzle coupled to a modified commercial piezoelectric valve and mounted on a movable vacuum feedthrough. The critical properties of the SGI jet—low divergence, high density, and sharp boundary gradient, achievable only at M>1, have been demonst...

An innovative fast system for x-ray imaging has been developed at ENEA-Frascati, Italy, in collaboration with INFN-Pisa, Italy. It is based on a pinhole camera coupled to a micropattern gas detector (MPGD) having a gas electron multiplier (GEM) as amplifying stage. This detector (2.5 cm×2.5 cm active area) is equipped with a two dimensional readout printed circuit board with 144 pixels (12×12). It is able to get x-ray images of the plasma at very high framing rate (up to 100 kHz) in a selectable x-ray energy range, with different magnifications or views of the plasma. The system has been tested successfully on the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) during Summer 2001, with a one-dimensional perpendicular view of the plasma. In collaboration with ENEA, the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and Princeton Plasma Physics (PPPL), this system has been setup and calibrated in the x-ray energy range 3–8 keV and it has been installed, with a tangential view, on the NSTX experiment at PPPL. Time resolved, two-dimensional ...

We develop an integrated instrumental and computational package for the diagnosis of impurity content, Zeff profile, particle transport, and magnetohydrodynamics activity in magnetic fusion experiment plasmas. The package includes broadband filtered arrays of absolute (AXUV) photodiodes, a transmission grating imaging spectrometer measuring up to 20 chords across the discharge and having a few angstrom spectral resolution, together with an atomic physics database coupled with an impurity transport code. The atomic physics database is based on ab initio computations with the Hebrew University Lawrence Livermore atomic code. The package is designed for the diagnostic of sub-keV plasmas having predominantly low-Z impurities (C, B, and O) together with trace metals. A preliminary version is being tested on the National Spherical Torus Experiment spherical torus at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, using the ultrasoft x-ray imaging system and a grazing incidence spectrometer. Representative results from...

The Johns Hopkins Plasma Spectroscopy Group is developing a transmission grating based imaging spectrometer for the ultrasoft x-ray [(USXR), 10–300 A] range. The spectrometer will be integrated into an impurity diagnostic package for magnetic fusion experiments, which provides time and space resolved information about radiation losses, Zeff profiles, and particle transport. The spectrometer has a simple layout, consisting of collimating and space resolving slits, a transmission grating, and a two-dimensional imaging USXR detector. We tested two types of detectors, a CsI coated multichannel plate and a phosphor P45 coated fiber optic plate, both with intensified charge-coupled-device image readout. The performance of the 5000 1/mm, 3:1 bar to open area ratio transmission grating has been evaluated in the laboratory using Kα lines from a Manson source and the emission from a Penning discharge. A prototype spectrometer equiped with the first type detector and optimized for 6 A spectral resolution has been te...

Rapidly developing diagnostic, operational, and analysis capability is enabling the first detailed local physics studies to begin in high β plasmas of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). These studies are motivated in part by the observation of energy confinement times in neutral-beam-heated discharges that are favourable with respect to predictions from the ITER-89P scaling expression. For plasmas heated with neutral beam injection (NBI), analysis based on profile measurements suggests that electron heat conduction is the dominant thermal loss channel. Cases where early analysis indicates that ion thermal conduction may be exceptionally low is motivating studies of possible sources of ion heating not presently accounted for by classical collisional processes. Gyrokinetic microstability studies indicate that long wavelength turbulence with kθρi~0.1-1 may be stable or suppressed by E×B shear in these plasmas, while modes with kθρi~50 may be robust. High harmonic fast wave (HHFW) heating efficiently heats electrons on NSTX, and studies have begun using it to assess transport in the electron channel. Regarding edge transport, H-mode transitions occur with either NBI or HHFW heating. The power required for L- to H-mode transitions far exceeds that expected from empirical ELM-free H-mode scaling laws derived from moderate aspect ratio devices. Finally, initial fluctuation measurements made with two techniques are permitting the first characterizations of edge turbulence.

Electron transport has been measured in the Current-Drive Experiment Upgrade (CDX-U) (T. Jones, Ph.D. thesis, Princeton University, 1995) using two separate perturbative techniques. Sawteeth at the q=1 radius (r/a∼0.15) induced outward-propagating heat pulses, providing time-of-flight information leading to a determination of χe as a function of radius. Gas modulation at the plasma edge introduced inward-propagating cold pulses, providing a complementary time-of-flight based χe profile measurement. This work represents the first localized measurement of χe in a spherical torus. Core (r/a

Recent upgrades to CDX-U spherical torus diagnostics include two 10-channel AXUV diode arrays. The multilayer mirror (MLM) array measures the λ150 O VI brightness profile in the poloidal plane using the Mo/B4C synthetic multilayer structures as dispersive elements. The foil filter array has a tangential view and is equipped with interchangeable clear aperture, beryllium and titanium filters. This allows measurements of radiated power, O VI or C V radial distributions, respectively. The O VI and C V emissivity and the radiated power profiles are highly peaked. A Neoclassical impurity accumulation mechanism is considered as an explanation. For radiated power measurements in the Te⩽100 eV plasmas, photon energy dependent corrections must be used in order to account for nonlinear AXUV sensitivity in the range Ephot⩽20 eV. The arrays are also used for characterization of resistive MHD phenomena, such as the low m modes, saw-tooth oscillations and internal reconnection events. Based on the successful operation ...

Electron cyclotron emission (ECE) has been employed as a standard electron temperature profile diagnostic on many tokamaks and stellarators, but most magnetically confined plasma devices cannot take advantage of standard ECE diagnostics to measure temperature. They are either “overdense,” operating at high density relative to the magnetic field (e.g., ωpe≫Ωce in a spherical torus) or they have insufficient density and temperature to reach the blackbody condition (τ>2). Electron Bernstein waves (EBWs) are electrostatic waves that can propagate in overdense plasmas and have a high optical thickness at the electron cyclotron resonance layers as a result of their large kperp. In this article we report on measurements of EBW emission on the CDX-U spherical torus, where B0∼2 kG, 〈ne〉∼1013 cm−3 and Te≈10–200 eV. Results are presented for electromagnetic measurements of EBW emission, mode converted near the plasma edge. The EBW emission was absolutely calibrated and compared to the electron temperature profile me...

A spectrally resolved ultrasoft x-ray imaging system, consisting of arrays of high resolution (

A fast camera system is being prepared for the TEXTOR tokamak for the investigation of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) instabilities. The camera will consist of a scintillator screen for conversion of x rays into visible light, a fiberoptic cable for transport of the visible images out of the Textor magnetic field, an electrostatic image converter for amplification and demagnification of the images, and a fast charge-coupled device (CCD) camera for capturing and storing the image data. The purpose of our camera is two-dimensional imaging of magnetic islands and the structure of MHD instabilities. In order to increase the signal intensity and simultaneously reduce statistical noise, we maximize the diameter of the scintillator screen to 100 mm. For good time response, we use fast scintillators and phosphors, and plan to employ a 1 MHz framing CCD camera. MHD events having an amplitude larger than 1% can be observed with a time resolution of 100 kHz and a spatial resolution of 3 cm. In the future, the camera will be used on the Large Helical Device in Japan. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(99)62201-8].

A simple low velocity boron micro-pellet injector has been under development for Current Drive Experiment Upgrade (CDX-U) spherical torus edge and core impurity transport measurements, and wall conditioning. The injector consists of 16 barrels on a rotatable turret. Each barrel can be loaded with boron powder particles of diameters ranging from 1 to 40 μm diameter in amounts ranging from less than 0.25 mg to more than 2 mg. A selected barrel is manually rotated into firing position using a vacuum precision rotary/linear motion feedthrough. A piezoelectric valve gas feed system triggered by CDX-U discharge timing is used to control H2 or D2 propellant gas at a cylinder pressure of 5.8×10−3 Pa (40 psi) or less. The injector barrel-to-CDX-U plasma edge distance is 0.47 m. Initial low mass injections of neutral boron beams were performed into CDX-U plasmas at a velocity of 23 m/s. Measurements were obtained with a filtered gated charge coupled device TV camera, bolometry, visible spectroscopy, and ultrasoft ...

The goals of the diagnostic set for initial plasma operations on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) are to provide information on the fundamental discharge parameters necessary to characterize NSTX plasmas, and guide NSTX operations for optimized performance. While most of these diagnostics involve relatively straightforward techniques requiring little or no research and development, and rely heavily on reusing existing equipment, a few pose considerable challenges due to the NSTX geometry. Magnetic diagnostics and visible discharge imaging will be the primary systems for plasma control and equilibrium. Confinement and transport studies will be supported by electron temperature, density, and impurity profile diagnostics. Scrapeoff layer and divertor physics will be investigated with spectroscopic and bolometric diagnostics, thermocouples, and edge Langmuir probes. X-ray fluctuation diagnostics and magnetic pickup coils will be provided for MHD stability analysis. The latter impose special difficulties for NSTX, because of the high temperature environment and the very limited space on the center stack. This article provides an overview of the diagnostics planned for the first phase of NSTX, and highlights the design features needed to satisfy the difficult constraints the device imposes on magnetic diagnostics.

Lower hybrid (LH) current drive experiments on the Princeton Beta Experiment-Modified (PBX-M) [Phys. Fluids B 2, 1271 (1990)] have shown that the current profile can be changed by varying the phase velocity of the waves. The radial profile of the current carrying electrons was deduced from two-dimensional hard x-ray tomography. For a certain range of phase velocities, there is a correlation between the peak of the fast electron profile and the launched wave spectrum, despite the presence of a wide spectral gap between the phase velocity and the thermal electron energy distribution. A new model is proposed to explain how first-pass wave damping is possible in such plasmas. The rf power can form a tail of energetic electrons, and subsequently waves with moderate phase velocity can damp on them. For waves with very fast phase velocity, there must be an upshift of the n∥ spectrum for any damping to occur. These hypotheses are supported by ray tracing results which are coupled to relativistic Fokker–Planck cal...

We are developing large pixel count, fast (⩾100 kHz) and continuously sampling soft x-ray (SXR) array for the diagnosis of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and turbulent fluctuations in magnetic fusion energy plasmas. The arrays are based on efficient scintillators, high thoughput multiclad fiber optics, and multichannel light amplification and integration. Compared to conventional x-ray diode arrays, such systems can provide vastly increased spatial coverage, and access to difficult locations with small neutron noise and damage. An eight-channel array has been built using columnar CsI:Tl as an SXR converter and a multianode photomultiplier tube as photoamplifier. The overall system efficiency is measured using laboratory SXR sources, while the time response and signal-to-noise performance have been evaluated by recording MHD activity from the spherical tori (ST) Current Drive Experiment-Upgrade and National Spherical Torus Experiment, both at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

There has been a long-standing collaboration between ORNL and PPPL on edge and boundary layer physics. As part of this collaboration, ORNL has a large role in the instrumentation and interpretation of edge physics in the lithium tokamak experiment (LTX). In particular, a charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CHERS) diagnostic is being designed and undergoing staged testing on LTX. Here we present results of passively measured lithium emission at 5166.89 A in LTX in anticipation of active spectroscopy measurements, which will be enabled by the installation of a neutral beam in 2013. Preliminary measurements are made in transient LTX plasmas with plasma current, I(p)70 kA, ohmic heating power, P(oh) ∼ 0.3 MW and discharge lifetimes of 10-15 ms. Measurements are made with a short focal length spectrometer and optics similar to the CHERS diagnostics on NSTX [R. E. Bell, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 68(2), 1273-1280 (1997)]. These preliminary measurements suggest that even without the neutral beam for active spectroscopy, there is sufficient passive lithium emission to allow for line-of-sight profile measurements of ion temperature, T(i); toroidal velocity and v(t). Results show peak T(i) = 70 eV and peak v(t) = 45 km/s were reached 10 ms into the discharge.

A reflectometer, based on the amplitude modulation technique, has been developed and operated on a PBX-M for the measurement of electron density profile. The system, operating with the extraordinary mode in the range of 32-50 GHz, is able to measure the density profile in the plasma edge from the scrape-off layer up to typically r/a=0.7. The determination of the time delay for each frequency is achieved by measuring the phase delay of a 200 MHz amplitude modulation envelope superimposed on the millimetre wave probing signal. The system has a final bandwidth of 40 kHz and is able to obtain the edge profile during a 1 ms sweep of the microwave source. High quality profiles are obtained in systematic good agreement with Thomson scattering measurements. The profile reconstruction from the raw data is direct, with only a need for minimal data processing. Profiles have been measured for ohmic, RF and NBI heated discharges. Features of the profile changes in the kH transition are shown. One of the goals of the instrument has been the measurement of the slight modifications to the edge density profile produced by the injection of ion Bernstein waves. These changes have been clearly observed and are in agreement with theoretical expectations.

During lower hybrid current drive on tokamaks, suprathermal electrons are generated that emit hard x‐ray bremsstrahlung. A pinhole camera has been installed on the PBX‐M tokamak that records 128×128 pixel images of the hard x‐ray plasma bremsstrahlung emitted in the 30–200 keV photon energy range. The camera has a temporal resolution of 3 ms and a spatial resolution of 3–4 cm in the plasma. The detector is a 230‐mm‐diam hard x‐ray image intensifier. This instrument has identified hollow radiation profiles on PBX‐M, indicating off‐axis current drive. A detailed account of the construction of the hard x‐ray camera, its operation, and its performance is given.

This paper describes techniques for measuring halo currents, and their associated toroidal peaking, in the National Spherical Torus Experiments [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)]. The measurements are based on three techniques: (1) measurement of the toroidal field created by the poloidal halo current, either with segmented Rogowski coils or discrete toroidal field sensors, (2) the direct measurement of halo currents into specially instrument tiles, and (3) small Rogowski coils placed on the mechanical supports of in-vessel components. For the segmented Rogowski coils and discrete toroidal field detectors, it is shown that the toroidal peaking factor inferred from the data is significantly less than the peaking factor of the underlying halo current distribution, and a simple model is developed to relate the two. For the array of discrete toroidal field detectors and small Rogowski sensors, the compensation steps that are used to isolate the halo current signal are described. The electrical and mechanical design of compact under-tile resistive shunts and mini-Rogowski coils is described. Example data from the various systems are shown.

A rf detection system for waves in the 30 MHz range has been constructed for the Far Infrared Tangential Interferometer/Polarimeter on National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). It is aimed at monitoring high frequency density fluctuations driven by 30 MHz high harmonic fast wave fields. The levels of density fluctuations at various radial chords and antenna phase angles can be estimated using the electric field calculated by TORIC code and linearized continuity equation for the electron density. In this paper, the experimental arrangement for the detection of rf signal and preliminary results of simulation will be discussed.

The lithium tokamak experiment (LTX) is a modest-sized spherical tokamak (R(0)=0.4 m and a=0.26 m) designed to investigate the low-recycling lithium wall operating regime for magnetically confined plasmas. LTX will reach this regime through a lithium-coated shell internal to the vacuum vessel, conformal to the plasma last-closed-flux surface, and heated to 300-400 °C. This structure is highly conductive and not axisymmetric. The three-dimensional nature of the shell causes the eddy currents and magnetic fields to be three-dimensional as well. In order to analyze the plasma equilibrium in the presence of three-dimensional eddy currents, an extensive array of unique magnetic diagnostics has been implemented. Sensors are designed to survive high temperatures and incidental contact with lithium and provide data on toroidal asymmetries as well as full coverage of the poloidal cross-section. The magnetic array has been utilized to determine the effects of nonaxisymmetric eddy currents and to model the start-up phase of LTX. Measurements from the magnetic array, coupled with two-dimensional field component modeling, have allowed a suitable field null and initial plasma current to be produced. For full magnetic reconstructions, a three-dimensional electromagnetic model of the vacuum vessel and shell is under development.

Most magnetically confined plasma devices cannot take advantage of standard electron cyclotron emission (ECE) diagnostics to measure temperature. They either operate at high density relative to their magnetic field (e.g., ωp≫Ωc in spherical tokamaks) or they do not have sufficient density and temperature to reach the blackbody condition (τ>2). The standard ECE technique measures the electromagnetic waves emanating from the plasma. Here we propose to measure electron Bernstein waves (EBW) to ascertain the local electron temperature in these plasmas. The optical thickness of EBW is extremely high because it is an electrostatic wave with a large ki. For example, the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) will have an optical thickness τ≈3000 and CDX-U will have τ≈300. One can reach the blackbody condition with a plasma density ≈1011 cm−3 and Te≈1 eV. This makes it attractive to most plasma devices. The serious issue with using EBW is the wave accessibility for the emission measurement. Simple accessibili...

The lithium tokamak experiment (LTX) is a spherical tokamak with R(0)=0.4 m, a=0.26 m, B(TF) approximately 3.4 kG, I(P) approximately 400 kA, and pulse length approximately 0.25 s. The goal of LTX is to investigate tokamak plasmas that are almost entirely surrounded by a lithium-coated plasma-facing shell conformal to the last closed magnetic flux surface. Based on previous experimental results and simulation, it is expected that the low-recycling liquid lithium surfaces will result in higher temperatures at the plasma edge, flatter overall temperature profiles, centrally peaked density profiles, and an increased confinement time. To test these predictions, the electron temperature and density profiles in LTX will be measured by a multipoint Thomson scattering system. Initially, TS measurements will be made at up to 12 simultaneous points between the plasma center and plasma edge. Later, high resolution edge measurements will be deployed to study the lithium edge physics in greater detail. Technical challenges to implementing the TS system included limited "line-of-sight" access to the plasma due to the plasma-facing shell and problems associated with the presence of liquid lithium.

The lithium tokamak experiment (LTX) is a spherical tokamak with R(0)=0.4 m, a=0.26 m, B(TF) approximately 3.4 kG, I(P) approximately 400 kA, and pulse length approximately 0.25 s. The focus of LTX is to investigate the novel low-recycling lithium wall operating regime for magnetically confined plasmas. This regime is reached by placing an in-vessel shell conformal to the plasma last closed flux surface. The shell is heated and then coated with liquid lithium. An extensive array of magnetic diagnostics is available to characterize the experiment, including 80 Mirnov coils (single and double axis, internal and external to the shell), 34 flux loops, 3 Rogowskii coils, and a diamagnetic loop. Diagnostics are specifically located to account for the presence of a secondary conducting surface and engineered to withstand both high temperatures and incidental contact with liquid lithium. The diagnostic set is therefore fabricated from robust materials with heat and lithium resistance and is designed for electrical isolation from the shell and to provide the data required for highly constrained equilibrium reconstructions.

A linear array of four small biased electrodes was installed in NSTX in an attempt to control the width of the scrape-off layer by creating a strong local poloidal electric field. The set of electrodes was separated poloidally by a 1 cm gap between electrodes and were located slightly below the midplane of NSTX, 1 cm behind the rf antenna, and oriented so that each electrode is facing approximately normal to the magnetic field. Each electrode can be independently biased to +/-100 V. Present power supplies limit the current on two electrodes to 30 A and the other two to 10 A each. The effect of local biasing was measured with a set of Langmuir probes placed between the electrodes and another set extending radially outward from the electrodes, and also by the gas puff imaging diagnostic located 1 m away along the magnetic field lines intersecting the electrodes. Two fast cameras were also aimed directly at the electrode array. The hardware and controls of the biasing experiment will be presented and the initial effects on local plasma parameters will be discussed.

An overview of the developments postcirca 1980s in the instrumentation and application of charge exchange neutral particle diagnostics on magnetic fusion energy experiments is presented. First, spectrometers that employ only electric fields and hence provide ion energy resolution but not mass resolution are discussed. Next, spectrometers that use various geometrical combinations of both electric and magnetic fields to provide both energy and mass resolutions are reviewed. Finally, neutral particle diagnostics based on utilization of time-of-flight techniques are presented. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

The Stark effect has been employed in a novel technique for obtaining the pitch angle profile and q(r) using polarimetry measurements of the Doppler shifted Hα emission from a hydrogen diagnostic neutral beam. As a neutral beam propagates through a plasma, collisions of the beam particles with the background ions and electrons will excite beam atoms, leading to emission of radiation. The motional Stark effect, which arises from the electric field induced in the atom’s rest frame due to the beam motion across the magnetic field (E=Vbeam×B), causes a wavelength splitting of several angstroms and polarization of the emitted radiation. The Δm=±1 transitions, or σ components, from the beam fluorescence are linearly polarized parallel to the direction of the local magnetic field when viewed transverse to the fields. Since the hydrogen beam provides good spatial localization and penetration, the pitch angle can be obtained anywhere in the plasma. A photoelastic modulator (PEM) is used to modulate the linearly polarized light. Depending on the orientation of the PEM, it can measure the sine or cosine of the angle of polarization. Two PEM’s are used to measure both components simultaneously. Results of q(r) for both Ohmic and NBI heated discharges have been obtained in the Princeton Beta Experiment (PBX‐M) tokamak, with an uncertainty of ∼6% for q(0).The Stark effect has been employed in a novel technique for obtaining the pitch angle profile and q(r) using polarimetry measurements of the Doppler shifted Hα emission from a hydrogen diagnostic neutral beam. As a neutral beam propagates through a plasma, collisions of the beam particles with the background ions and electrons will excite beam atoms, leading to emission of radiation. The motional Stark effect, which arises from the electric field induced in the atom’s rest frame due to the beam motion across the magnetic field (E=Vbeam×B), causes a wavelength splitting of several angstroms and polarization of the emitted radiation. The Δm=±1 transitions, or σ components, from the beam fluorescence are linearly polarized parallel to the direction of the local magnetic field when viewed transverse to the fields. Since the hydrogen beam provides good spatial localization and penetration, the pitch angle can be obtained anywhere in the plasma. A photoelastic modulator (PEM) is used to modulate the linearly po...

Coherent magnetohydrodynamic modes have been observed previously during neutral beam injection in the PDX tokamak [Phys. Rev. Lett. 50, 891 (1983)] and they have now been seen in the TFTR tokamak [Phys. Fluids 26, 2958 (1983)]. Periodic bursts of oscillations were detected with several plasma diagnostics, and Fokker–Planck calculations show that the populations of trapped particles in both tokamaks are sufficient to account for fishbone destabilization if a resonant interaction, between the mode and the beam ions, is assumed. Estimates of mode parameters are in reasonable agreement with the experiments, and they indicate that the fishbone mode may continue to affect the performance of intensely heated tokamaks.

The first-ever successful operation of a tokamak with a large area (40% of the total plasma surface area) liquid lithium wall has been achieved in the Lithium Tokamak eXperiment (LTX). These results were obtained with a new, electron beam-based lithium evaporation system, which can deposit a lithium coating on the limiting wall of LTX in a five-minute period. Preliminary analyses of diamagnetic and other data for discharges operated with a liquid lithium wall indicate that confinement times increased by 10× compared to discharges with helium-dispersed solid lithium coatings. Ohmic energy confinement times with fresh lithium walls, solid and liquid, exceed several relevant empirical scaling expressions. Spectroscopic analysis of the discharges indicates that oxygen levels in the discharges limited on liquid lithium walls were significantly reduced compared to discharges limited on solid lithium walls. Tokamak operations with a full liquid lithium wall (85% of the total plasma surface area) have recently started.

In tokamak plasmas, a key element in the understanding of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities is the determination of their toroidal and poloidal mode numbers. This is usually accomplished by correlating measurements of radiation, particles, or magnetic oscillations at separate positions toroidally and poloidally around the torus. It is possible, however, to obtain the same information with arrays of soft x-ray detectors viewing the horizontal midplane and the poloidal cross section of the tokamak from a single location. The perturbation due to an MHD mode on a toroidal shell will modulate the soft x-ray emission along sightlines intersecting it. The number of maxima, and the angular separation between the channels detecting them, have a straightforward geometrical relationship to the mode number. This approach thus avoids the need for complex inversion of line-integrated signals. The method has already been used to determine poloidal mode numbers on the Princeton beta experiment-modification tokamak,...

Summary form only given. We are developing large pixel count, fast (/spl ges/100 kHz) and continuously sampling soft X-ray (SXR) arrays for the diagnosis of MHD and turbulent fluctuations in MFE experiments. The arrays are based on efficient scintillators, high throughput multi-clad fiber optics, and multi-channel light amplification and integration. Compared to conventional X-ray diode arrays, such systems can provide vastly increased spatial coverage (e.g. 2-D tangential imaging), access to difficult locations and potentially circumvent the neutron damage encountered with typical X-ray diodes. A prototype eight-channel array is being built using columnar CsI:Tl deposited on a fiber optic faceplate as an SXR converter and a multi-anode PMT and APD as photoamplifiers. Columnar CsI:Tl was found to have conversion efficiency superior to that of amorphous depositions. The overall system efficiency is measured using laboratory SXR sources, while the time response and signal-to-noise performance are evaluated by recording MHD activity from the Current Drive Experiment Upgrade (CDX-U) and the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at PPPL.

An important issue for future tokamaks is real‐time plasma control for the avoidance of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities and other applications that require detailed plasma profile and fluctuation data. Although measurements from diagnostics providing this information require significantly more processing than magnetic flux data, recent advancements could make them practical for adjusting operational settings for plasma heating and current drive systems as well as field coil currents. On the Princeton Beta Experiment‐Modification (PBX‐M), the lower hybrid current drive phasing can be varied during a plasma shot using digitally programmable ferrite phase shifters, and neural beam functions can be fully computer controlled. PBX‐M diagnostics that may be used for control purposes include motional Stark‐effect polarimetry for magnetic field pitch angle profiles, soft x‐ray arrays for plasma position control and the separation of βp from li, hard x‐ray detectors for energetic electron distributions, a multich...

Electron density profile measurements have been obtained on PBX‐M by amplitude modulation reflectometry. With this technique, the measurement of the time delay is obtained from the phase delay of the modulating envelope (200 MHz in PBX‐M). The system operates with the extraordinary mode, in the range 32–50 GHz. Under these conditions the density profile of PBX‐M can be probed from the scrape‐off layer up to typically r/a=0.7. With a final bandwidth of 40 kHz, the reflectometer is able to obtain the edge profile in 1 ms. The profiles obtained are relatively noise free and in good agreement with Thomson scattering measurements. Perturbations due to the strong‐edge turbulence are kept to a minimum, and no software filtering or other signal processing was necessary to extract the time delay information from the raw data. Profiles have been measured for ohmic and Neutron Beam Injection heated discharges.

We discuss the fluctuation characteristics expected from MHD modes including ballooning modes and show how they can be studied using measurements of ECE. A novel technique, ECE correlation radiometry, which enables the location and spatial structure of long wavelength (L≳0.1×a) MHD modes to be determined, is described. Measurements on JET with a 44‐channel ECE heterodyne radiometer are presented and show the existence of high‐frequency (high n number) MHD modes under high poloidal beta, pellet‐enhanced performance (PEP) plasma conditions. Similar measurements are planned for PBX‐M and the measurement system is described.

Electron cyclotron emission (ECE) has been employed as a standard electron temperature profile diagnostic on many tokamaks and stellarators, but most magnetically confined plasma devices cannot take advantage of standard ECE diagnostics to measure temperature. They are either overdense, operating at high density relative to the magnetic field (e.g. where the plasma frequency is much greater than the electron cyclotron frequency, as in a spherical torus) or they have insufficient density and temperature to reach the blackbody condition. Electron Bernstein waves (EBWs) are electrostatic waves that can propagate in overdense plasmas and have a high optical thickness at the electron cyclotron resonance layers, as a result of their large perpendicular wavenumber. This paper reports on measurements of EBW emission on the CDX-U spherical torus, where B{sub o} {approximately} 2 kG, {approximately}10{sup 13} cm{sup {minus}3} and T{sub e} {approx} to 10 -- 200 eV. Results are presented for electromagnetic measurements of EBW emission, mode-converted near the plasma edge. The EBW emission was absolutely calibrated and compared to the electron temperature profile measured by a multi-point Thomson scattering diagnostic. Depending on the plasma conditions, the mode converted EBW radiation temperature was found to be less than or equal to T{sub e} and the emission source was determined to be radially localized at the electron cyclotron resonance layer. A Langmuir triple probe and a 140 GHz interferometer were employed to measure changes in edge density profile in the vicinity of the upper hybrid resonance, where the mode conversion of the EBWs is expected to occur. Initial results suggest EBW emission and EBW heating are viable concepts for overdense plasmas.

The Rogowski Loop is one of the most basic diagnostics for tokamak operations. On the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), the plasma current Rogowski Loop had the constraints of the very limited space available on the center stack, 5,000 volt isolation, flexibility requirements as it remained a part of the Center Stack assembly after the first phase of operation, and a +120 C temperature requirement. For the second phase of operation, four Halo Current Rogowski Loops under the Center Stack tiles will be installed having +600 C and limited space requirements. Also as part of the second operational phase, up to ten Rogowski Loops will installed to measure eddy currents in the Passive Plate support structures with +350 C, restricted space, and flexibility requirements. This presentation will provide the details of the material selection, fabrication techniques, testing, and installation results of the Rogowski Loops that were fabricated for the high temperature operational and bakeout requirements, high voltage isolation requirements, and the space and flexibility requirements imposed upon the Rogowski Loops. In the future operational phases of NSTX, additional Rogowski Loops could be anticipated that will measure toroidal plasma currents in the vacuum vessel and in the Passive Plate assemblies.

The concept of a flowing lithium first wall for a fusion reactor may lead to a significant advance in reactor design, since it could virtually eliminate the concerns with power density and erosion, tritium retention, and cooling associated with solid walls. Sputtering and erosion tests are currently underway in the PISCES device at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). To complement this effort, plasma interaction questions in a toroidal plasma geometry will be addressed by a proposed new groundbreaking experiment in the Current Drive eXperiment-Upgrade (CDX-U) spherical torus (ST). The CDX-U plasma is intensely heated and well diagnosed, and an extensive liquid lithium plasma-facing surface will be used for the first time with a toroidal plasma. Since CDX-U is a small ST, only approximately1 liter or less of lithium is required to produce a toroidal liquid lithium limiter target, leading to a quick and cost-effective experiment.

Most magnetically confined plasma devices cannot take advantage of standard Electron Cyclotron Emission (ECE) diagnostics to measure temperature. They either operate at high density relative to their magnetic field or they do not have sufficient density and temperature to reach the blackbody condition. The standard ECE technique measures the electromagnetic waves emanating from the plasma. Here we propose to measure electron Bernstein waves (EBW) to ascertain the local electron temperature in these plasmas. The optical thickness of EBW is extremely high because it is an electrostatic wave with a large k(subscript i). One can reach the blackbody condition with a plasma density approximately equal to 10(superscript 11) cm(superscript -3) and electron temperature approximately equal to 1 eV. This makes it attractive to most plasma devices. One serious issue with using EBW is the wave accessibility. EBW may be accessible by either direct coupling or mode conversion through an extremely narrow layer (approximately 1-2 mm) in low field devices.

The efficiency of plasma current drive with lower hybrid waves is reflected in the distribution of suprathermal electrons formed during this process. Past measurements of the bremsstrahlung radiation from these electrons depended on arrays of hard x‐ray detectors at different toroidal and poloidal locations around tokamaks [Nucl. Fusion 25, 1515 (1985)]. To avoid the space requirements and the complex correlation and inversion procedures associated with such systems, a single 23‐cm‐diam hard x‐ray image intensifier tube is being installed for two‐dimensional imaging on PBX‐M. It will be optically coupled to an image processor already in place for a soft x‐ray pinhole camera [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 59, 1831 (1988)], and analysis algorithms similar to those already developed for this diagnostic will be used.

A tangentially viewing soft x‐ray pinhole camera has been used to measure internal plasma shape on the PBX‐M tokamak. While several methods of deriving the poloidal emissivity profile have been investigated, the most robust consists of a forward modeling technique which permits the inference of the internal shape, axial safety factor, and the current profile. Using poloidal flux measurements to constrain the external shape, equilibria are calculated for different values of q(0). The mapping of the x‐ray emissivity to the internal poloidal flux value is obtained by Abel‐inverting the x‐ray image on the plasma midplane and assuming constant emissivity on a flux surface. Model camera images are then constructed and compared with the measured camera image. A least‐squares fit of these models to the measured image produces an inferred value of q(0). The effects of noise have been examined, and the resulting uncertainty in q(0) can range from 0.1 to 0.3, depending on details of the experimental conditions.

We report on upgrades to the flat-field grazing-incidence grating spectrometers X-ray and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (XEUS) and Long-Wavelength Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (LoWEUS), at the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. XEUS employs a variable space grating with an average spacing of 2400 lines/mm and covers the 9-64 Å wavelength band, while LoWEUS has an average spacing of 1200 lines/mm and is positioned to monitor the 90-270 Å wavelength band. Both spectrometers have been upgraded with new cameras that achieve 12.5 ms time resolution. We demonstrate the new time resolution capability by showing the time evolution of iron in the NSTX plasma.

Successful current profile control experiments using lower hybrid current drive (LCHD) clearly require knowledge of (1) the location of the driven fast electrons and (2) the ability to maintain that location from spreading due to radial diffusion. These issues can be addressed by examining the data from the hard x-ray camera on PBX-M, a unique diagnostic producing two-dimensional, time resolved tangential images of fast electron bremsstrahlung. Using modeling, these line-of-sight images are inverted to extract a radial fast electron current density profile. We note that ``hollow`` profiles have been observed, indicative of off-axis current drive. These profiles can then be used to calculate an upper bound for an effective fast electron diffusion constant: assuming an extremely radially narrow lower hybrid absorption profile and a transport model based on Rax and Moreau, a model fast electron current density profile is calculated and compared to the experimentally derived profile. The model diffusion constant is adjusted until a good match is found. Applied to steady-state quiescent modes on PBX-M, we obtain an upper limit for an effective diffusion constant of about D*=1.1 m{sup 2}/sec.

The magnetic field pitch angle measurements from the multichannel Motional Stark Effect (MSE) polarimeter system, together with the external poloidal flux values, toroidal plasma current, coil currents, and plasma pressure profile, as computed by the TRANSP code, are used to constrain the numerical solution of the Grad‐Shafranov equation. The experimental results from the soft x‐ray diagnostic and hard x‐ray bremsstrahlung radiation profiles show clear signatures of a change in the current density profile during Lower hybrid injection. Indications of a variation in the q‐profile are supported by the behavior of the measured sawtooth inversion radius. Modifications in the current density profiles, induced by Lower Hybrid waves, are discussed in terms of their effect on q‐profiles and volume‐averaged quantities like Ii.

The use of lithium-coated plasma facing components for plasma density control is studied in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). A recently installed liquid lithium divertor (LLD) module has a porous molybdenum surface, separated by a stainless steel liner from a heated copper substrate. Lithium is deposited on the LLD from two evaporators. Two new spectroscopic diagnostics are installed to study the plasma surface interactions on the LLD: (1) A 20-element absolute extreme ultraviolet (AXUV) diode array with a 6 nm bandpass filter centered at 121.6 nm (the Lyman-α transition) for spatially resolved divertor recycling rate measurements in the highly reflective LLD environment, and (2) an ultraviolet-visible-near infrared R=0.67 m imaging Czerny-Turner spectrometer for spatially resolved divertor D I, Li I-II, C I-IV, Mo I, D(2), LiD, CD emission and ion temperature on and around the LLD module. The use of photometrically calibrated measurements together with atomic physics factors enables studies of recycling and impurity particle fluxes as functions of LLD temperature, ion flux, and divertor geometry.

A novel diagnostic design seeks to enhance the capability of multienergy soft x-ray (SXR) detection by using an image intensifier to amplify the signals from a larger set of filtered x-ray profiles. The increased number of profiles and simplified detection system provides a compact diagnostic device for measuring T(e) in addition to contributions from density and impurities. A single-energy prototype system has been implemented on NSTX, comprised of a filtered x-ray pinhole camera, which converts the x-rays to visible light using a CsI:Tl phosphor. SXR profiles have been measured in high performance plasmas at frame rates of up to 10 kHz, and comparisons to the toroidally displaced tangential multi-energy SXR have been made.

A diagnostic system is being implemented on PBX‐M which measures the time response of synchrotron emission to a brief pulse of Lower Hybrid (LH) power. Such a diagnostic might yield information about those plasma parameters which induce temporal changes in the emission.1 The system, developed around a ten channel grating polychromator, will yield a 40×10 signal in time/frequency space. This data set might lead to information about: the magnetic field pitch, the ion charge state, the plasma density, or the deposition profile of the LH pulse. Simulations of the time/frequency radiation patterns for typical PBX‐M plasmas will be presented, and from these the utility of the diagnostic in this experiment will be evaluated.

Optical diagnostics will be critical for the operation and performance assessment of burning plasma experiments, such as ITER. At the same time, extracting light for these diagnostics with reflective mirrors becomes difficult in the burning plasma environment due to the deleterious effects of the prolonged exposure on plasma and nuclear radiations. As an alternative, we explore the possibility to use freestanding diffractive optical elements, such as transmission gratings and zone plates, as light extractors. Since in diffractive systems, light is deflected by periodic slits rather than by a surface, these may withstand plasma exposure with less degradation of their optical properties. To investigate this possibility, we developed freestanding transmission gratings for the visible range and exposed them to conditions resembling (or even exceeding) those expected for the ITER “first mirrors.” The results of this study indicate that the gratings can withstand high heat fluxes and plasma and energetic radiation bombardment. Additionally, in contrast to the reflective elements, the extraction efficiency of diffractive elements may even improve with plasma exposure, which is possibly due to the shaping and thinning of the grating bars by plasma erosion. Moreover, in tightly collimated configurations, even very thin gratings can be used to extract light from hot fusion plasmas, as demonstrated by our tests of an extreme ultraviolet extractor at the National Spherical Torus Experiment.

A method of plasma current generation known as coaxial helicity injection (CHI) has been successfully applied in the National Spherical Torus Experiment [M. Ono, S. M. Kaye, Y.-K. M. Peng et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 3Y–557 (2000)] to form closed, nested magnetic surfaces carrying a plasma current up to 160kA. In some discharges the generated current persists for surprisingly long, ∼400ms. While the CHI method has previously been studied in smaller experiments, such as the Helicity Injected Tokamak (HIT-II) [R. Raman, T. R. Jarboe, B. A. Nelson et al., Phys Rev. Lett. 90, 075005 (2003)] at the University of Washington, the significance of these results are (a) demonstration of the process in a vessel volume thirty times larger than HIT-II on a size scale more comparable to a reactor, (b) a remarkable multiplication factor of 60 between the injected current and the achieved toroidal current, compared to six in previous experiments, and (c) for the first time, fast time scale visible imaging of the entire proce...

The determination of the effective particle confinement time (τp*), i.e., the particle confinement time normalized to recycling coefficient, is difficult when its value is long compared to the discharge duration in magnetically confined plasmas. Recent experiments on the current drive experiment upgrade (CDX-U) spherical torus have successfully achieved a significant reduction in recycling with large-area liquid lithium plasma-facing surfaces. The low recycling walls result in an increase in particle pumping and make it possible to measure τp* in short duration plasmas. Measurements of τp* are made using a supersonic gas injector which is closely coupled to plasma. A fast gas pulse is emitted from the supersonic gas injector, after which the density decay is measured using a microwave interferometer. The design of the supersonic gas injector and its configuration on CDX-U will be presented. The results of this technique will be shown as applied to the study of the effects of a liquid lithium toroidal limi...