Time resolved plasma diagnostics for pulsed 2.45 GHz hydrogen discharges.

A review of the last ten years of advances in temporal resolved plasma diagnostics for pulsed operated 2.45 GHz microwave-driven hydrogen discharges is presented. Special attention has been paid to the study of breakdown and decay processes where some particular phenomena are explored for application in ion sources. Measurements of plasma temperature and density using vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy, ultra-fast photography, and ion mass spectroscopy are performed in detail, including examples and results.

Correlations between density distributions, optical spectra, and ion species in a hydrogen plasma (invited).

An experimental study of plasma distributions in a 2.45 GHz hydrogen discharge operated at 100 Hz repetition rate is presented. Ultrafast photography, time integrated visible light emission spectra, time resolved Balmer-alpha emission, time resolved Fulcher Band emission, ion species mass spectra, and time resolved ion species fraction measurements have been implemented as diagnostic tools in a broad range of plasma conditions. Results of plasma distributions and optical emissions correlated with H(+), H2(+), and H3(+) ion currents by using a Wien filter system with optical observation capability are reported. The magnetic field distribution and strength is found as the most critical factor for transitions between different plasma patterns and ion populations.

The relationship between visible light emission and species fraction of the hydrogen ion beams extracted from 2.45 GHz microwave discharge.

The relationship between Balmer-α and Fulcher-band emissions with extracted H(+), H2(+), and H3(+) ions is demonstrated for a 2.45 GHz microwave discharge. Ion mass spectra and optical measurements of Balmer-α and Fulcher-band emissions have been obtained with a Wien Filter having an optical view-port on the plasma chamber axis. The beam of approximately 1 mA is analyzed for different plasma conditions simultaneously with the measurement of light emissions both with temporal resolution. The use of visible light emissions as a valuable diagnostic tool for monitoring the species fraction of the extracted beams is proposed.

Influence of microwave driver coupling design on plasma density at Testbench for Ion sources Plasma Studies, a 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance plasma reactor.

A comparative study of two microwave driver systems (preliminary and optimized) for a 2.45 GHz hydrogen Electron Cyclotron Resonance plasma generator has been conducted. The influence on plasma behavior and parameters of stationary electric field distribution in vacuum, i.e., just before breakdown, along all the microwave excitation system is analyzed. 3D simulations of resonant stationary electric field distributions, 2D simulations of external magnetic field mapping, experimental measurements of incoming and reflected power, and electron temperature and density along the plasma chamber axis have been carried out. By using these tools, an optimized set of plasma chamber and microwave coupler has been designed paying special attention to the optimization of stationary electric field value in the center of the plasma chamber. This system shows a strong stability on plasma behavior allowing a wider range of operational parameters and even sustaining low density plasma formation without external magnetic field. In addition, the optimized system shows the capability to produce values of plasma density four times higher than the preliminary as a consequence of a deeper penetration of the magnetic resonance surface in relative high electric field zone by keeping plasma stability. The increment of the amount of resonance surface embedded in the plasma under high electric field is suggested as a key factor.

Ultra-fast intensified frame images from an electron cyclotron resonance hydrogen plasma at 2.45 GHz: some space distributions of visible and monochromatic emissions.

First results from an ultra-fast frame image acquisition diagnostic coupled to a 2.45 GHz microwave hydrogen discharge are presented. The plasma reactor has been modified to include a transparent doubled shielded quartz window allowing to viewing the full plasma volume. Pictures describing the breakdown process at 1 µs exposure time have been obtained for integrated visible light signal, Balmer-alpha, Balmer-beta lines, and Fulcher-band. Several different plasma emission distributions are reported. The distribution depends on the magnetic field configuration, incident microwave power, and neutral gas pressure.

Temperature and density evolution during decay in a 2.45 GHz hydrogen electron cyclotron resonance plasma: off-resonant and resonant cases.

Time resolved electron temperature and density measurements during the decay stage in a hydrogen electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma are presented for a resonance and off-resonance magnetic field configurations. The measurements are conducted on a ECR plasma generator excited at 2.45 GHz denominated test-bench for ion-sources plasma studies at ESS Bilbao. The plasma parameters evolution is studied by Langmuir probe diagnostic with synchronized sample technique developed for repetitive pulsed plasmas with a temporal resolution of 200 ns in typical decay processes of about 40 µs. An afterglow transient is clearly observed in the reflected microwave power signal from the plasma. Simultaneously, the electron temperature evolution shows rebounding peaks that may be related to the interplay between density drop and microwave coupling with deep impact on the Electron Energy Distribution Function. The correlation of such structures with the plasma absorbed power and the coupling quality is also reported.

A 100 kV, 60 A solid state 4 kHz switching modulator for high power klystron driving.

A solid state high power modulator capable of delivering 120 kV and 60 A developed in collaboration with the JEMA Corporation, ESS Bilbao, and the SNS (ORNL) for driving high power klystrons is presented. Pulses with less than 10 µs risetime and flatness under 0.1% are obtained with programmable frequency pulses between 2 and 50 Hz. Eight solid state switches combined with custom air-insulated high voltage transformers working at a switching frequency of 4 kHz produce high quality pulses by phase shifting the transformer drives. Each relative high frequency stage pumps a double stage high voltage Marx generator that supplies the output pulse shape and frequency. This merged topology between a Marx generator and direct modulator takes advantage of the strengths of both approaches. Low energy storage in the output stages assures safe operation in case of a load arc discharge. Real time voltage correction during the pulse is also provided to compensate for the droop inherent with the use of low energy storage in the output stages. Data at full power with a dummy resistive load are presented.

Temperature peaking at beginning of breakdown in 2.45 GHz pulsed off-resonance electron cyclotron resonance ion source hydrogen plasma.

An experimental study of temperature and density evolution during breakdown in off-resonance ECR hydrogen plasma is presented. Under square 2.45 GHz microwave excitation pulses with a frequency of 50 Hz and relative high microwave power, unexpected transient temperature peaks that reach 18 eV during 20 µs are reported at very beginning of plasma breakdown. Decays of such peaks reach final stable temperatures of 5 eV at flat top microwave excitation pulse. Evidence of interplay between incoming power and duty cycle giving different kind of plasma parameters evolutions engaged to microwave coupling times is observed. Under relative high power conditions where short microwave coupling times are recorded, high temperature peaks are measured. However, for lower incoming powers and longer coupling times, temperature evolves gradually to a higher final temperature without peaking. On the other hand, the early instant where temperature peaks are observed also suggest a possible connection with preglow processes during breakdown in ECRIS plasmas.

Rayleigh-Taylor instability in elastic solids.

We present an analytical model for the Rayleigh-Taylor instability that allows for an approximate but still very accurate and appealing description of the instability physics in the linear regime. The model is based on the second law of Newton and it has been developed with the aim of dealing with the instability of accelerated elastic solids. It yields the asymptotic instability growth rate but also describes the initial transient phase determined by the initial conditions. We have applied the model to solid/solid and solid/fluid interfaces with arbitrary Atwood numbers. The results are in excellent agreement with previous models that yield exact solutions but which are of more limited validity. Our model allows for including more complex physics. In particular, the present approach is expected to lead to a more general theory of the instability that would allow for describing the transition to the plastic regime.