Progress on the heating and current drive systems for ITER

First hydrogen operation of NIO1: Characterization of the source plasma by means of an optical emission spectroscopy diagnostic

NIO1 (Negative Ion Optimization 1) is a compact and flexible radio frequency H(-) ion source, developed by Consorzio RFX and INFN-LNL. The aim of the experimentation on NIO1 is the optimization of both the production of negative ions and their extraction and beam optics. In the initial phase of its commissioning, NIO1 was operated with nitrogen, but now the source is regularly operated also with hydrogen. To evaluate the source performances, an optical emission spectroscopy diagnostic was installed. The system includes a low resolution spectrometer in the spectral range of 300-850 nm and a high resolution (50 pm) one, to study, respectively, the atomic and the molecular emissions in the visible range. The spectroscopic data have been interpreted also by means of a collisional-radiative model developed at IPP Garching. Besides the diagnostic hardware and the data analysis methods, the paper presents the first plasma measurements across a transition to the full H mode, in a hydrogen discharge. The characteristic signatures of this transition in the plasma parameters are described, in particular, the sudden increase of the light emitted from the plasma above a certain power threshold.

Physics of a magnetic filter for negative ion sources. I. Collisional transport across the filter in an ideal, 1D filter

Magnetic filters are used in negative ion sources for neutral beam injection in fusion devices to reduce the electron temperature in the extraction region in order to limit negative ion destruction by fast electrons. The drop in electron temperature through the filter is due to the enhanced residence time and collisional energy losses of electrons trapped in the magnetic field. The mechanisms controlling particle and energy transport through the magnetic filter in negative ion sources of the ITER type are still not clear and the aim of this paper is to clarify and quantify these mechanisms. A particle-in-cell Monte Carlo simulation is used to revisit and analyze the role and operation of the magnetic filter in an “ideal” one-dimensional configuration and to study the stability of the one-dimensional solution in a two-dimensional configuration with periodic boundary conditions. The roles of collisions and instabilities on electron transport through the filter are discussed. The influence of a more realistic geometry on electron transport through the filter is analyzed in the companion paper [Boeuf et al., Phys. Plasmas 19, 113510 (2012)].