Research paper on “A diagnostic to measure neutral-atom density in fusion-research plasmas” has been published in the Review of Scientific Instruments

A research paper on neutral-atom density diagnostics on the PFRC-2, written with our colleagues and collaborators, has been published and is titled “A diagnostic to measure neutral-atom density in fusion-research plasmas” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0101683. It is part of the “Proceedings of the 24th Topical Conference on High-Temperature Plasma Diagnostics.”

In this paper, a femtosecond two-photon-absorption laser-induced-fluorescence (fs-TALIF) diagnostic was designed, installed, and operated on the Princeton-Field-Reversed Configuration-2 device to provide non-invasive measurements of the time and spatially resolved neutral-atom densities in its plasmas. We demonstrated that fs-TALIF can provide spatially, to ±2 mm, and temporally resolved, to 10 µs, measurement of the density of certain previously inaccessible atoms, e.g., atomic hydrogen (Ho).

Calibration of the Ho density was accomplished by comparison with Krypton (Kr) TALIF. Measurements on plasmas formed of either molecular hydrogen (H2) or Kr fill gases allowed examination of nominally long and short ionization mean-free-path regimes. With multi-kW plasma heating and H2 fill gas, a spatially uniform Ho density of order 1017 m−3 was measured with better than ±2 mm and 10 µs resolution. Under similar plasma conditions but with Kr fill gas, a 3-fold decrease in the in-plasma Kr density was observed.

Ho density is essential to several plasma diagnostics including time-of-flight and ion energy analyzers, and high-resolution spectroscopy, as by CPT (coherent population trapping) and DFSS (Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy). It was also used in Collisional Radiative Modelling for predicting the Electron temperature diagnostic in PFRC-2.

TALIF H-α signal (arb units) at r = 40 mm vs time for (identical) RMFo-heated discharges (Pf ∼ 60 kW). The maximum Ho density is 2 × 1017 m−3. The non-zero Ho density before and after RMFo is due to the seed plasma. RMFo power applied between 3.7 and 9.5 ms.

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