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A scaling technique has been developed in order to predict the voltage holding capability of the world-largest electrostatic accelerator for fusion application having a long gap vacuum insulation around 1 m with large surface area of more than 6 m 2 . One of critical issues for design of such large-size accelerator is the development of the prediction model based on the experimental results. For this purpose, the 1/5 scale mockup has been developed, which is composed of the 5-stage accelerator with the high voltage bushing in the vacuum vessel. Direct comparison of the sustainable voltages in the 1/5 scale and full-scale high voltage busing only shows that a voltage scaling in 1/5 scale size is 55%. It was found that the voltage scaling is consistent with the prediction based on the empirical scaling according to the surface area and gap length. As a result, the voltage holding capability of the 1/5 scale mockup is 400 kV in the experiment, which indicates an estimation of 720 kV in full-scale with a real configuration. This is the first experiment-based prediction of the voltage holding capability for the largest accelerator for ITER. The improvement of the voltage holding capability has been already planned by using multi-layer electrostatic shields. In such experiment, the developed scaling technique is useful to predict the voltage holding capability for large vacuum components which can not be easily tested.

ITER NBIでは1MeV, 40Aの負イオンビームを加速する世界最大(3m x 4m)の負イオン加速器が必要であり、このような大型加速器では面積と共に劣化する耐電圧が大きな課題である。従来加速器よりも数倍大きい電極において1MVの耐電圧を実現するため、大面積長ギャップでの耐電圧試験を実施し、静電シールドによる耐電圧改善手法を考案した。現在、1/5サイズのITER負イオン加速器を用いて検証中であり、その進捗を報告する。, 第24回若手科学者によるプラズマ研究会

ITERでは真空中に負イオンビーム源を設置するため、ビーム源と真空容器間の長ギャップ真空1MV絶縁が課題である。従来の2次元形状の耐電圧設計を基に、1/5スケールビーム源で耐電圧試験を実施した結果、実機スケール（3m×3m）で1MVを実現するためには、中間電位を有する静電シールドが必要であることが分かった。本発表では、3次元構造を有する5層静電シールドを設計するために開発した耐電圧設計手法を報告する。, 負イオン研究会2021

As a challenge to measure the extraction surface of the negative ion beam, a laser Thomson scattering system with high spatial resolution was applied to a weakly ionized plasma in a negative ion source for the first time. The first target was to measure electron density around extraction region because shape of the extraction surface can be estimated by electron spatial profile. However, stray light by injected laser, filament and plasma was too intense compared to signal from the low density region. To solve this, a triple grating spectroscopy and a multilayer black screen were introduced, and the laser spot size was minimized to reduce slit sizes of the spectroscopy. As a result, electron density was successfully measured accurately in low density region. From an error estimation, measurement of electron density 3×10^16 m^-3 with spatial resolution of 0.5 mm at extraction region can be realized with accumulation of signals from multiple laser shots. This system can contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of formation of the extraction surface, which is a long-term issue in the negative ion source.

The hollow meniscus shape in the multi-stage MeV-class accelerator for ITER was identified for the first time by the reverse trajectory calculation with the measured emittance. The molten traces due to the power deposition of the negative ion beam, which was not predicted by conventional particle tracking codes, were observed on the edge of a grounded grid after long pulse operation in a prototype accelerator for ITER. Because such unexpected damage to the grid is a critical issue for the ITER accelerator, a reconstruction of the beam trajectory has been tried by iteratively calculating the beam trajectory backward from the measured emittance profile to the meniscus. As a result, it was found that the negative ion is mainly extracted from the periphery of the extraction hole. This led to deformation of the meniscus and degradation of beam focusing, resulting in the local grid heat load by the negative ion beam. This finding contributes to the design optimization of the ITER accelerator., International Conference on Ion Sources (ICIS2021)

The first emittance measurement of the high power density negative ion beam at target perveance conditions of the ITER accelerator was presented. Previously, the ITER requirement on grid headloads at 2% of the total beam current, which can scrape the electrode apertures, was experimentally identified for the first time. These measurement results for the single beamlet contributes to future multiple-beam analysis and design of the ITER accelerator and beamline., The 19th International Conference on ions sources

Protection system of cathodes from local discharge has been developed for the high power and stable negative ion source used in the heating system of ITER and JT-60SA. Discharge marks on the cathode indicate that this discharge occurs not only to anode walls but also plasma, so-called unipolar discharge. The critical issue is that the local discharge increases with cesium seedings to enhance the negative ions. To minimize damage on the cathode, a fast cut-off system of discharge current has been developed by combining Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and IGBT switch and was applied to protect the filament cathode in the large negative ion source with 1.2 m long. Growth rate of local discharge was independent of the discharge power and varied from 150 to 400 mA/μs. However, local discharge with an energy less than 1.3 J did not cause remarkable damage on the filaments, corresponding to the cut-off time of 280 μs. This system can be applied to any cathode in the ion sources., International Conference on Ion Sources 2021

Negative ion sources for fusion are required to generate the stable high-energy and high-current negative ion beam with long pulse duration more than 1000 s. To satisfy these requirements, it is essential to minimize the heat load on accelerators. The key issue for managing the heat load is to understand the mechanism of the meniscus formation in negative ion sources. In the paper, negative ion beam optics are studied in both real and phase spaces to get a better understanding of the meniscus formation. Plasma parameters and the negative ion beam in a Caesium-seeded negative ion source are measured simultaneously, and correlation between the plasma conditions and the beam optics are investigated in order to elucidate a dominant plasma parameter determining the meniscus shape. In addition, the spatial distribution of negative ions in the vicinity of the meniscus is extracted through a backward trajectory calculation from the accelerator exit to the meniscus using experimental data as an input. The negative ion trajectory was calculated taking into consideration the negative ion distribution based on the backward calculation, and the influence of the non-uniformity of negative ion profile on the meniscus formation is discussed., 28th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference

The extraction mechanism of negative ion beams is affected by the behavior of positive and negative ions near the extraction apertures. Flow of the charged particles in a hydrogen discharge were measured with a newly developed directional photodetachment probe which has a single probe tip. Compared with our previous multiple-tip directional probe, the single-tip directional probe was able to measure fine flow structure of the positive and the negative ions without spatial ambiguity associated with electron deflection magnetic field and density gradient. The single-tip probe observed the turning of the flow of the negative hydrogen ion by increasing the bias voltage in the extraction region of the negative ion source.

Improvement of deuterium injection power in the negative-ion-based NBIs (n-NBIs) for the Large Helical Device (LHD) are reported. Co-extracted electron current at acceleration of deuterium negative ions (D− ions) limits the injection power. The electron current is reduced by decreasing the extraction gap, and the injected D− current evaluated from the injection power increased from 46 to 55 A. Greater electron reduction was achieved by installing a structure named an ‘electron fence’ (EF), with which D− beam power was successfully improved from 2.0 MW to 3.0 MW. The injection power in three configurations − without EF, with EF of 5 mm and 7 mm distance from the plasma grid (PG) surface − have been compared in both cases of hydrogen and deuterium operations, and it was found that the configuration with the EF of 5 mm distance was the best to satisfy the performance for both of hydrogen and deuterium injections. Although the co-extracted electron current is reduced in the negative ion sources applied for JT-60SA and ITER by utilizing the PG filter, it is possible to achieve more effective electron reduction by combining the PG filter and the EF.

Simultaneous measurement of negative ion source plasma and extracted beam is carried out in order to clarify a key plasma parameter governing the meniscus formation in negative ion sources for fusion. The plasma discharge is performed with various discharge powers at different bias voltages in order to vary the plasma parameters. It is shown that the beam width changes along the same curve with respect to the negative ion density at any bias voltage while it varies along different curves with other plasma parameters depending on the bias voltage. This implies that the mechanism of meniscus formation in negative ion sources could be described along the similar manner as positive ion sources.

We developed a small-size electron gun capable of producing electrons with kinetic energy less than few tens of eV to investigate the slowing down and transport mechanisms of electrons in hydrogen negative ion source plasmas. The maximum extractable beam current density reached 36 μA/cm2 for 1 eV beam energy in a preliminary experiment. Although the present electron current density is still insufficient compared with our target value, 1 mA/cm2, we have found some hints to realize larger beam current density from the electron gun through this study. The measured beam profile along the electron beam axis has shown that the electron beam could travel approximately 7 mm from the electron gun in vacuum. The Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulation explained the measured beam profile well and indicated that the electron beam has an energy spread as small as 0.1 eV compared to the 1 eV mean energy. The PIC simulation showed a discrepancy from the measurement in the dependence of the electron beam current on the beam extraction voltage of the electron gun. It implies that we should introduce a more realistic filament structure inside the electron gun in the PIC simulation in order to study the transport of low energy electrons more precisely.

A compact ion source that produces hydrogen plasma with an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) configuration combined with a 2-stage extraction system with a single aperture of 6 mm diameter has been designed and built to study the performance of different materials as the plasma electrode (PE) of a negative hydrogen ion source. The source has the capability to electrically bias the PE with respect to the ECR plasma. The first experiment with low ECR power input (less than 40 W) was carried out. The PE of the C12A7 electride showed the largest H- current among aluminum, molybdenum, and the C12A7 electride.

In order to investigated the dynamics of H− ions and understand the extraction process inside filament-arc-driven plasmas in a Cs-seeded negative ion source, diagnostic experiments using a directional Langmuir probe combined with photodetachment measurement have been conducted. Two-dimensional flow pattern of H− ion flow has been obtained as well as the profile of H− ion density. The result shows that H− ions come from the direction of plasma grid surface, flow to the plasma in the extraction region. During beam extraction, H− ion flow turns to the beam direction. The stagnation point of H− ion flow is at ∼20 mm apart from the plasma grid. Around the stagnation point, the maximum decrement of H− density caused by beam extraction appears. The results indicate that H− ions are extracted from the plasma volume. The extraction process occurs in a region near the plasma grid aperture with boundary of ∼20 mm apart from the plasma gird.

Second deuterium operation of the negative ion based neutral beam injector was performed in 2018 in the large helical device. The electron and ion current ratio improves to Ie/Iacc(D) = 0.31 using the short extraction gap distance of 7 mm between the plasma grid (PG) and the extraction grid (EG). The strength of the magnetic field by the electron deflection magnet installed in the EG increases by 17% at the PG ingress surface, which effectively reduces the electron component in the negative ion rich plasma in the vicinity of PG apertures. The reduction of the electron current made it possible to operate at a high power arc discharge and beam extraction. Then, the deuterium negative ion current increases to 55.4 A with the averaged current density of 233 A/m2. The thermal load on the EG using 7 mm gap distance is 0.6 times smaller than the thermal load using a 8 mm gap caused by the reduction of coextracted electron current. The injection beam power increases to 2.9 MW in the beam line BL3, and the total beam injection power increases to 7 MW by three beam lines in the second deuterium campaign.

To evaluate negative ion beam properties, a dual beamlet monitor system has been developed. The dual beamlet monitor system has two diagnostics in one hexagonal box. One diagnostic is a “fast beamlet monitor” for measuring the time evolution of beamlet current profiles with the time resolution of up to 25 MHz. The other diagnostic is a “pepper-pot-type phase space analyzer,” which is applied for the evaluation of a phase space structure of the negative ion beamlet. The dual beamlet monitor system is applied to the measurement of the beamlet in the Neutral Beam Test Stand at National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS-NBTS), in which the beam accelerator is almost identical to those of working beam injectors in the large helical device. It is demonstrated that the overlapping components from the neighboring beamlet can be eliminated, and the phase space structure can be obtained for the single beamlet.To evaluate negative ion beam properties, a dual beamlet monitor system has been developed. The dual beamlet monitor system has two diagnostics in one hexagonal box. One diagnostic is a “fast beamlet monitor” for measuring the time evolution of beamlet current profiles with the time resolution of up to 25 MHz. The other diagnostic is a “pepper-pot-type phase space analyzer,” which is applied for the evaluation of a phase space structure of the negative ion beamlet. The dual beamlet monitor system is applied to the measurement of the beamlet in the Neutral Beam Test Stand at National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS-NBTS), in which the beam accelerator is almost identical to those of working beam injectors in the large helical device. It is demonstrated that the overlapping components from the neighboring beamlet can be eliminated, and the phase space structure can be obtained for the single beamlet.

Beam focusing is one of the most important elements for the stable and safe operation of high power negative ion beams, such as neutral beam injection into magnetically confined fusion plasmas. In order to investigate impacts of the source plasma fluctuation on beam focusing, a simultaneous measurement of the source plasma fluctuation and the beam current profile has been carried out in the research-and-development negative ion source at the National Institute for Fusion Science. The responses of beam width and of the beam centre deviation are observed for the first time, indicating the importance of the source plasma stability for the negative ion beam focusing.

Negative ion beam focusing is a key element for advanced applications of negative ion beams such as accelerators for particle physics, compact accelerators for medical fields, and plasma experiments for nuclear fusion because complicated magnetic fields exist both inside of the source plasma and the grid system. In order to understand the beam focusing, phase space structure measurements for a single beamlet have been performed with a research-and-development negative ion source at the National Institute for Fusion Science. A complicated phase space structure is observed in the direction parallel to the filter magnetic field in the vicinity of the plasma grid, while a single-Gaussian beamlet structure is observed in the direction perpendicular to the filter field. Detailed analyses for the phase space structure of the single beamlet reveal that the complicated structure can be identified as a combination of three beam components with different beam axes. The shifts of each axis are also observed to depend on the ratio of the acceleration voltage for the extraction voltage, which may significantly degrade the beamlet focusing.

Density distributions of negative hydrogen (H−) ions and negative deuterium (D−) ions were measured with the laser photodetachment method in the extraction region of the negative ion source. The distribution of H− ion density peaks at the center of the ion source, while that of the D− ion shows a flatter profile in the direction parallel to the plasma grid. The positive ion densities of hydrogen and deuterium estimated from the positive saturation current indicate similar profiles with different amounts close to the grid. The difference in the H− ion and D− ion distributions can be explained by the difference in the negative ion yield and the survival probability of the ions due to the isotope effect.

Positive and negative hydrogen ion reflections from surfaces by injecting singly charged hydrogen ion beams show a clear difference between atomic and molecular ion injections at low energy and grazing incidence. The intensity ratio of reflected negative to positive ions H−/H+ increased as the incident beam energy per nucleon decreased only when molecular ion beams are injected. It implies that negative ions are more produced upon beam-surface interaction when molecules are injected. A possible reason was discussed in terms of difference in the negative ion production processes between atomic and molecular ions.

For an unique experimental approach to study low-energy electron transport in a plasma, a “sub” filament was introduced in a volume-produced, DC filament-driven hydrogen negative ion (H−) source as an additional electron source. The sub-filament engages in the special task which introduces additional electrons into the plasma with controlling injection energies. Transports of the additional electrons are observed by the difference of the electron density profiles with and without the electron introduction. The experimental result here indicates that the electron transport is strongly restricted by the filter magnetic field. On the other hand, analysis with Particle-In-Cell simulation seems to imply that the restriction by the magnetic field can be changed by the controlling electron energy in the sub-filament experiments for the research of the electron transport.For an unique experimental approach to study low-energy electron transport in a plasma, a “sub” filament was introduced in a volume-produced, DC filament-driven hydrogen negative ion (H−) source as an additional electron source. The sub-filament engages in the special task which introduces additional electrons into the plasma with controlling injection energies. Transports of the additional electrons are observed by the difference of the electron density profiles with and without the electron introduction. The experimental result here indicates that the electron transport is strongly restricted by the filter magnetic field. On the other hand, analysis with Particle-In-Cell simulation seems to imply that the restriction by the magnetic field can be changed by the controlling electron energy in the sub-filament experiments for the research of the electron transport.

Key issues to fabricate a beam extraction system of a H− source with a plasma electrode (PE) made from C12A7 electride which has low work function were studied. Preliminary study of the H− extraction using a compact ECR ion source reveals, that high H− current can be extracted from a source without PE bias of high voltage. A bucket type with ECR source is being designed. Beam simulation for the extraction through the designed electrodes has been carried out using the OPERA code. It predicts that the optimum perveance is 0.6 mA/kV1.5, optimum acceleration to extraction voltage ratio Vacc/Vext is 4, with the minimum beam divergence of 9 mrad, which are enough to demonstrate the capability to produce a high H− current density.Key issues to fabricate a beam extraction system of a H− source with a plasma electrode (PE) made from C12A7 electride which has low work function were studied. Preliminary study of the H− extraction using a compact ECR ion source reveals, that high H− current can be extracted from a source without PE bias of high voltage. A bucket type with ECR source is being designed. Beam simulation for the extraction through the designed electrodes has been carried out using the OPERA code. It predicts that the optimum perveance is 0.6 mA/kV1.5, optimum acceleration to extraction voltage ratio Vacc/Vext is 4, with the minimum beam divergence of 9 mrad, which are enough to demonstrate the capability to produce a high H− current density.

Deuterium beam operations on neutral beam injectors (NBI) have been carried out successfully in the Large Helical Device (LHD) in 2017. We injected a total of 31 MW neutral beam power, which gave us a new operation region for high ion temperature plasma. Upgrading the beam energy from 40 keV to 60 keV and then to 80 keV for deuterium operation in a positive ion based NBI (P-NBI) of BL4 and BL5, respectively, we have achieved 10.6 MW (75 keV) beam injection in the P-NBI. We confirmed a good arc efficiency (extracted beam current/arc power) with 83% high deuteron ratio which is the same as the hydrogen operation in the positive source. We also extracted deuterium ion beam from three negative-ion based NBIs (N-NBI) without increase beam energy, although the injection power decreased by less than half. The averaged arc efficiency of the deuterium negative ion is approximately 66% of the hydrogen case, and the current density of the accelerated beam current reached 190 A/m2. We have clearly found the lower limit of electron current ratio depending on the arc discharge power. Certainly, the extracted electron current ratio increased in deuterium operation. However, we have had no trouble on the beam line components.Deuterium beam operations on neutral beam injectors (NBI) have been carried out successfully in the Large Helical Device (LHD) in 2017. We injected a total of 31 MW neutral beam power, which gave us a new operation region for high ion temperature plasma. Upgrading the beam energy from 40 keV to 60 keV and then to 80 keV for deuterium operation in a positive ion based NBI (P-NBI) of BL4 and BL5, respectively, we have achieved 10.6 MW (75 keV) beam injection in the P-NBI. We confirmed a good arc efficiency (extracted beam current/arc power) with 83% high deuteron ratio which is the same as the hydrogen operation in the positive source. We also extracted deuterium ion beam from three negative-ion based NBIs (N-NBI) without increase beam energy, although the injection power decreased by less than half. The averaged arc efficiency of the deuterium negative ion is approximately 66% of the hydrogen case, and the current density of the accelerated beam current reached 190 A/m2. We have clearly found the lower lim...

We report on the characteristics of the beam-generated plasma in the multibeamlet case of a hydrogen negative ion beam at NIFS. The plasma potential, and the energy of secondary particles in the drift region of an ion beam, offer an insight into the mechanisms that allow beam transport in low pressure gasses. The first measurements reported here were made by means of a four-gridded retarding field energy analyzer, combined with the measurement of the drain current at the beam dump, and with infrared beamlet monitoring technique. The retarding field analyzer measures the energy distributions of particles emitted radially from the beam-generated plasma [1]. The beam is dumped onto a graphite calorimeter, which is electrically insulated, so that it can be electrically biased and the collected current can be measured. The thermal image of the calorimeter is acquired during the beam pulse, thus offering a quantitative estimation of the single beamlet optics and multibeamlet focusing. Finally, the influence of the neutral gas density is studied by puffing hydrogen gas in this drift region. The measured ion and electron energy distribution functions are strongly affected by the electric bias of the calorimeter. For a 47kV, 0.3A beam, an electron temperature of 3eV at the plasma edge was found. The energy distribution of the ions for a pressure of about 0.03Pa is presented, from which the plasma potential can be inferred.

The consumption rate of cesium (Cs) for negative hydrogen (H-) ion source increases when the source operation gas is changed from hydrogen to deuterium. There was observed a clear indication that a deuterium discharge erodes Cs atoms on the plasma grid (PG) surface to increase work function and the co-extracted electron current. We have proposed a model, that the enhanced sputtering yield of Cs from the PG due to deuterium ions, which carries more kinetic energy to Cs adsorbed on the surface directly or indirectly, is the main reason for this fast dissipation of Cs. Introduction of helium (He) into discharge can verify the enhanced sputtering effect due to the lager mass ions in the source discharge. Comparing the effect due to seeded Cs before and after the He injection into discharge through Cs OES signals as well as the H- density measured with cavity ring-down method, the sputtering/evaporation enhancement due to He is estimated. Neutral atoms and positive ions in the He discharge should cause enhanced sputtering like deuterium, while the system does not generate neutron under the induction of acceleration voltage to diagnose the extracted negative ion beam. Plasma parameters of the H2 and He plasmas are investigated by diagnostics tools installed on NIFS-RNIS (National Institute for Fusion Science, Research and development Negative Ion Source) together with H- density measurement by cavity ring down. Enhanced consumption rate of Cs is compared with proposed sputtering yield data to predict the rate for deuterium operation of negative ion sources.

Recent advances in the high power and steady state heating system and experiment results of the Large Helical Device (LHD) are reviewed in this paper. Plasma performance is extended largely through...

Hydrogen ion reflection properties have been investigated following the injection of H+, H2+ and H3+ ions onto a polycrystalline W surface. Angle- and energy-resolved intensity distributions of both scattered H+ and H− ions are measured by a magnetic momentum analyzer. We have detected atomic hydrogen ions reflected from the surface, while molecular hydrogen ions are unobserved within our detection limit. The reflected hydrogen ion energy is approximately less than one-third of the incident beam energy for H3+ ion injection and less than a half of that for H2+ ion injection. Other reflection properties are very similar to those of monoatomic H+ ion injection. Experimental results are compared to the classical trajectory simulations using the ACAT code based on the binary collision approximation.

Neutral beam injectors are among the most important methods of plasma heating in magnetic confinement fusion devices. The propagation of the negative ions, prior to their conversion into neutrals, is of fundamental importance in determining the properties of the beam, such as its aiming and focusing at long-distances, so as to deposit the beam power in the proper position inside the confined plasma, as well as to avoid interaction with the material surfaces along the beam path. The final design of the ITER Heating Neutral Beam prototype has been completed at Consorzio RFX (Padova, Italy), in the framework of a close collaboration with European, Japanese and Indian fusion research institutes. The physical and technical rationales on which the design is based were essentially driven by numerical modelling of the relevant physical processes, and the same models and codes will be useful to design the DEMO neutral beam injector in the near future. This contribution presents a benchmark study of the codes used for this purpose, by comparing their results against the measures performed in an existing large-power device, hosted at the National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan. In particular, the negative ion formation and acceleration are investigated. A satisfactory agreement was found between codes and experiments, leading to an improved understanding of beam transport dynamics. The interpretation of the discrepancies identified in previous works, possibly related to the non-uniformity of the extracted negative ion current, is also presented.

Proton beams at 0.3, 0.5 and 1 keV energies were injected onto a Mo surface at shallow incidence angle, and the angle- and energy-resolved intensity distributions of reflected negative/positive ions were measured. The negative to positive intensity ratio increased as the incident angle and the reflected angle became shallower and the incident energy became lower. A numerical simulation calculation, Atomic Collision in Amorphous Target (ACAT), has been carried out to get the angular distribution of total reflection particle flux. Experimentally measured angular distributions of reflected H- ion intensity showed maxima at smaller angles than the calculated results, indicating that the negative ion formation has a maximum at v⊥ of 0.03 - 0.04 atomic unit.

The properties of cesium (Cs) recycling due to back-streaming ions have been investigated using an optical emission spec-troscopy in the hydrogen negative ion (H−) source with a slot-type grounded grid (GG). The slot-type GG performed well to enhance the beam performance, and to reduce the thermal loading on GG by high transparency. We clearly observed increase of Cs optical emission intensity during beam extraction owing to the increase of the Cs ions sputtered from the back plate of the source due to the back-streaming positive hydrogen ions. Increase of Cs is closely related with the extracted H− current, but it does not depend on the beam energy. Recycling Cs from the back plate is deeply relevant to the perveance condition of the H− beam, and is minimized at the optimum perveance. Strong Cs recycling from the back plate owing to the back-streaming ions is promoted in the high perveance condition with large divergence, which is consistent with the numerical calculation for the distribution of back str...

Total power of 16 MW has been successfully delivered to the plasma confined in the Large Helical Device (LHD) from three Neutral Beam Injectors (NBIs) equipped with negative hydrogen (H−) ion sources. However, the detailed mechanisms from production through extraction of H− ions are still yet to be clarified and a similar size ion source on an independent acceleration test bench called Research and development Negative Ion Source (RNIS) serves as the facility to study physics related to H− production and transport for further improvement of NBI. The production of negative-ion-rich plasma and the H− ions behavior in the beam extraction region in RNIS is being investigated by employing an integrated diagnostic system. Flow patterns of electrons, positive ions and H− ions in the extraction region are described in a two-dimensional map. The measured flow patterns indicate the existence a stagnation region, where the H− flow changes the direction at a distance about 20 mm from the plasma grid. The pattern also suggested the H- flow originated from plasma grid (PG) surface that turned back toward extraction apertures. The turning region seems formed by a layer of combined magnetic field produced by the magnetic filter field and the Electron-Deflection Magnetic (EDM) field created by magnets installed in the extraction electrode.

A radiofrequency oscillation is successfully superimposed on a plasma potential of a filamented source plasma in an ion beam source while maintaining a constant plasma density, in order to investigate effects of oscillating source plasma potential on an extracted ion beam. The experiment is preliminarily performed with a positive argon ion beam source. A class-D amplifier operational over a wide range of a frequency from a few tens of kHz to several MHz is installed; leading the oscillation of the plasma potential in the plasma source for the frequency range being tested. The beam current profile downstream of the extraction grids shows an oscillation of the beam current at the peripheral region of the ion beam; implying that the oscillation of a beam halo is induced by the potential oscillation of the source plasma.

The achievements of the deuterium beam operation of a negative-ion-based neutral beam injector (N-NBI) in the large helical device (LHD) are reported. In beam operation in LHD-NBIs, both hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D) neutral beams were generated by changing the operation gas using the same accelerator. The maximum accelerated deuterium negative-ion current () reaches 46.2 A from two beam sources with the averaged current density being 190 A m−2 for 2 s, and the extracted electron to accelerated ion current ratio () increases to 0.39 using 5.6 V high bias voltage in the first deuterium operation in 2017. An increase of electron density in the vicinity of the plasma grid (PG) surface, which is considered the main reason for the increase of co-extracted electrons in a beam, is confirmed by the half-size research negative-ion source in the neutral beam test stand at the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS). The deuterium negative-ion density is also larger than the hydrogen negative-ion density in the vicinity of the PG surface using the same discharge conditions. In the latest experimental campaign in 2018, increases to 55.4 A with the averaged current density being 233 A m−2 for 1.5 s using the shot extraction gap length. The low of 0.31 can be maintained by using high discharge power. The various parameters mentioned above are defined in detail below.

Verification of carbon density profile measurements with charge exchange spectroscopy of CVI (Δn = 8 - 7, λ = 529.2 nm) using hydrogen and deuterium neutral beams is described. This is a key issue in the study of the comparison of the carbon density profile between hydrogen and deuterium plasma, because the hydrogen neutral beams are injected in the hydrogen plasma and the deuterium neutral beams are injected in the deuterium plasma. By applying the precise beam attenuation calculation using precise atomic data, identical carbon density profile is obtained for the plasma with hydrogen beam and deuterium beam. A Verification of the measurement is performed by comparison of carbon density profile measured with charge exchange spectroscopy and increment of electron density profile just after the carbon pellet injection.

To improve the performance of negative-ion based neutral beam injection on the Large Helical Device, the accelerator was modified on the basis of numerical investigations. A field limiting ring was installed on the upper side of a grounded grid (GG) support and a multi-slot GG was adopted instead of a multi-aperture GG. As a result, the voltage holding capability is improved and the heat load on the GG decreases by 40%. In addition, the arc efficiency is improved significantly only by replacing the GG.

Recent research results on negative-ion-rich plasmas in a large negative ion source have been reviewed. Spatial density and flow distributions of negative hydrogen ions (H - ) and positive hydrogen ions together with those of electrons are investigated with a 4-pin probe and a photodetachment (PD) signal of a Langmuir probe. The PD signal is converted to local H - density from signal calibration to a scanning cavity ring down PD measurement. Introduction of Cs changes the slope of plasma potential local distribution depending upon the plasma grid bias. A higher electron density H 2 plasma locally shields the bias potential and behaves like a metallic free electron gas. On the other hand, the bias and extraction electric fields penetrate in a Cs-seeded electronegative plasma even when the electron density is similar. Electrons are transported by the penetrated electric fields from the driver region along and across the filter and electron deflection magnetic fields. Plasma ions exhibited a completely di ff erent response against the penetration of electric fields.

At National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), a multi-ampere negative ion source is used to support the RandD on H- production, extraction, and acceleration. In this contribution, we study the characteristics of the acceleration system of this source, in order to characterize the beam optics at different operational conditions. A dedicated experimental campaign was carried out at NIFS, using as main diagnostic the infra-red imaging of the beam profiles. The experimental measurements are also compared with 3D numerical simulations, in order to validate the codes and to assess their degree of reliability. The simulations show a satisfactory agreement with the experimental results.

Plasma grid bias has been utilized for reducing an electron density in the vicinity of a plasma grid in negative ion sources for fusion, resulting in achievement of low co-extracted electron current. In this study, the effectiveness and feasibility of the plasma grid bias on beam optics optimization are demonstrated. It is shown that the beam optics strongly depends on the bias voltage and is successfully optimized at different bias voltages depending on the discharge power. Responses of the beam properties such as the perveance and the current ratio to the plasma grid bias are also shown for both hydrogen and deuterium beams.

Characteristics of ionic plasmas, observed in a high-density hydrogen negative ion source, are investigated with a multi-diagnostics system. The ionic plasma, which consists of hydrogen positive- and negative-ions with a significantly low-density of electrons, is generated in the ion extraction region, from which the negative ions are extracted through the plasma grid. The negative ion density, i.e., the ionic plasma density, as high as the order of 1×1017m−3, is measured with cavity ring-down spectroscopy, while the electron density is lower than 1×1016m−3, which is confirmed with millimeter-wave interferometer. Reduction of the negative ion density is observed at the negative ion extraction, and at that time the electron flow into the ionic plasma region is observed to conserve the charge neutrality. Distribution of the plasma potential is measured in the extraction region in the direction normal to the plasma grid surface with a Langmuir probe, and the results suggest that the sheath is formed at the plasma boundary to the plasma grid to which the bias voltage is applied. The beam extraction should drive the negative ion transport in the ionic plasma across the sheath formed on the extraction surface. Larger reduction of the negative ions at the beam extraction is observed in a region above the extraction aperture on the plasma grid, which is confirmed with 2D image measurement of the Hα emission and cavity ring-down spectroscopy. The electron distribution is also measured near the plasma grid surface. These various properties observed in the ionic plasma are discussed.

Distributions of hydrogen Balmer-α (Hα) intensity and its reduction behavior close to a plasma grid (PG) surface have been observed by a spectrally selective imaging system in an arc discharge type negative hydrogen ion source in National Institute for Fusion Science. Hα reduction indicates a reduction of negative hydrogen ions because the mutual neutralization process between H+ and H− ions causes the dominant excitation process for Hα emission in the rich H− condition such as in ionic plasma. We observed a significant change in Hα reduction distribution due to change in the bias voltage, which is used to suppress the electron influx. Small Hα reduction in higher bias is likely because the production of negative ions is suppressed by the potential difference between the plasma and PG surface.

In the framework of the accompanying activity for the development of the two neutral beam injectors for the ITER fusion experiment, an instrumented beam calorimeter is being designed at Consorzio RFX, to be used in the SPIDER test facility (particle energy 100keV; beam current 50A), with the aim of testing beam characteristics and to verify the source proper operation. The main components of the instrumented calorimeter are one-directional carbon-fibre-carbon composite tiles. Some prototype tiles have been used as a small-scale version of the entire calorimeter in the test stand of the neutral beam injectors of the LHD experiment, with the aim of characterising the beam features in various operating conditions. The extraction system of the NIFS test stand source was modified, by applying a mask to the first gridded electrode, in order to isolate only a subset of the beamlets, arranged in two 3x5 matrices, resembling the beamlet groups of the ITER beam sources. The present contribution gives a description of the design of the diagnostic system, including the numerical simulations of the expected thermal pattern. Moreover the dedicated thermocouple measurement system is presented. The beamlet monitor was successfully used for a full experimental campaign, during which the main parameters of the source, mainly the arc power and the grid voltages, were varied. This contribution describes the methods of fitting and data analysis applied to the infrared images of the camera to recover the beamlet optics characteristics, in order to quantify the response of the system to different operational conditions. Some results concerning the beamlet features are presented as a function of the source parameters.

To investigate the flows of charged particles in front of the plasma grid (PG) in a negative hydrogen ion source, the information of the local densities of electrons and negative hydrogen ions (H-) are necessary. For this purpose, the laser photodetachment is applied for pure hydrogen plasmas and Cs-seeded plasma in a 1/3-size negative hydrogen ion source in NIFS-NBI test stand. The H- density obtained by photodetachment is calibrated by the results from cavity ring-down (CRD). The pressure dependence and PG bias dependence of the local H- density are presented and discussed. The results show that H- density increases significantly by seeding Cs into the plasma. In Cs-seeded plasma, relativity exists between the H- ion density and plasma potential.

The velocity distribution function of hydrogen atoms is one of the useful parameters to understand particle dynamics from negative hydrogen production to extraction in a negative hydrogen ion source. Hydrogen atom temperature is one of the indicators of the velocity distribution function. To find a feasibility of hydrogen atom temperature measurement in large scale filament arc negative hydrogen ion source for fusion, a model calculation of wavelength-modulated laser absorption spectroscopy of the hydrogen Balmer alpha line was performed. By utilizing a wide range tunable diode laser, we successfully obtained the hydrogen atom temperature of ∼3000 K in the vicinity of the plasma grid electrode. The hydrogen atom temperature increases as well as the arc power, and becomes constant after decreasing with the filling of hydrogen gas pressure.