Spatially resolved diagnostics for optimization of large ion beam sources

Giant negative ion sources for neutral beam injectors deliver huge negative ion currents, thanks to their multi-beamlet configuration. As the single-beamlet optics defines the transmission losses along the beamline, the extraction of a similar current for all beamlets is extremely desirable, in order to facilitate the beam source operation (i.e., around perveance match). This Review investigates the correlation between the vertical profile of beam intensity and the vertical profiles of plasma properties at the extraction region of the source, focusing on the influence of increasing cesium injection. Only by the combined use of all available source diagnostics, described in this Review, can beam features on the scale of the non-uniformities be investigated with a sufficient space resolution. At RF power of 50 kW/driver, with intermediate bias currents and a filter field of 2.4 mT, it is found that the central part of the four vertical beam segments exhibits comparable plasma density and beamlet currents; at the edges of the central segments, both the beam and electron density appear to decrease (probably maintaining fixed electron-to-ion ratio); at the bottom of the source, an increase of cesium injection can compensate for the vertical drifts that cause a much higher presence of electrons and a lower amount of negative ions.

First operation in SPIDER and the path to complete MITICA

The requirements of ITER neutral beam injectors (1 MeV, 40 A negative deuterium ion current for 1 h) have never been simultaneously attained; therefore, a dedicated Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) was set up at Consorzio RFX (Padova, Italy). The NBTF includes two experiments: SPIDER (Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from Rf plasma), the full-scale prototype of the source of ITER injectors, with a 100 keV accelerator, to investigate and optimize the properties of the ion source; and MITICA, the full-scale prototype of the entire injector, devoted to the issues related to the accelerator, including voltage holding at low gas pressure. The present paper gives an account of the status of the procurements, of the timeline, and of the voltage holding tests and experiments for MITICA. As for SPIDER, the first year of operation is described, regarding the solution of some issues connected with the radiofrequency power, the source operation, and the characterization of the first negative ion beam.

Steady state magnetic sensors for ITER and beyond: Development and final design (invited)

The measurements of the magnetic field in tokamaks such as ITER and DEMO will be challenging due to the long pulse duration, high neutron flux, and elevated temperatures. The long duration of the plasma pulse makes standard techniques, such as inductive coils, prone to errors. At the same time, the hostile environment, with repairs possible only on blanket exchange, if at all, requires a robust magnetic sensor. This contribution presents the final design of novel, steady-state, magnetic sensors for ITER. A poloidal array of 60 sensors mounted on the vacuum vessel outer shell contributes to the measurement of the plasma current, plasma-wall clearance, low-frequency MHD modes and will allow for crosscheck with the outer-vessel inductive coils. Each sensor hosts a pair of bismuth Hall probes, themselves an outcome of extensive R&D, including neutron irradiations (to 10²³ n/m²), temperature cycling tests (73-473 K) and tests at high magnetic field (to 12 T). A significant effort has been devoted to optimize the sensor housing by design and prototyping. The production version features an indium-filled cell for in situ recalibration of the onboard thermocouple, vital for the interpretation of the Hall sensor measurement.

Ion collector design for an energy recovery test proposal with the negative ion source NIO1

Commercial viability of thermonuclear fusion power plants depends also on minimizing the recirculation power used to operate the reactor. The neutral beam injector (NBI) remains one of the most important method for plasma heating and control. For the future fusion power plant project DEMO, a NBI wall plug efficiency at least of 0.45 is required, while efficiency of present NBI project is about 0.25. The D(-) beam from a negative ion source is partially neutralized by a gas cell, which leaves more than 40% of energy in residual beams (D(-) and D(+)), so that an ion beam energy recovery system can significantly contribute to optimize efficiency. Recently, the test negative ion source NIO1 (60 keV, 9 beamlets with 15 mA H(-) each) has been designed and built at RFX (Padua) for negative ion production efficiency and the beam quality optimization. In this paper, a study proposal to use the NIO1 source also for a beam energy recovery test experiment is presented and a preliminary design of a negative ion beam collector with simulations of beam energy recovery is discussed.

Preliminary results concerning the simulation of beam profiles from extracted ion current distributions for mini-STRIKE

The Radio Frequency (RF) negative hydrogen ion source prototype has been chosen for the ITER neutral beam injectors due to its optimal performances and easier maintenance demonstrated at Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching in hydrogen and deuterium. One of the key information to better understand the operating behavior of the RF ion sources is the extracted negative ion current density distribution. This distribution-influenced by several factors like source geometry, particle drifts inside the source, cesium distribution, and layout of cesium ovens-is not straightforward to be evaluated. The main outcome of the present contribution is the development of a minimization method to estimate the extracted current distribution using the footprint of the beam recorded with mini-STRIKE (Short-Time Retractable Instrumented Kalorimeter). To accomplish this, a series of four computational models have been set up, where the output of a model is the input of the following one. These models compute the optics of the ion beam, evaluate the distribution of the heat deposited on the mini-STRIKE diagnostic calorimeter, and finally give an estimate of the temperature distribution on the back of mini-STRIKE. Several iterations with different extracted current profiles are necessary to give an estimate of the profile most compatible with the experimental data. A first test of the application of the method to the BAvarian Test Machine for Negative ions beam is given.

Multi-beamlet investigation of the deflection compensation methods of SPIDER beamlets

SPIDER (Source for Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from a Rf plasma) is an ion source test bed designed to extract and accelerate a negative ion current up to 40 A and 100 kV whose first beam is expected by the end of 2016. Two main effects perturb beamlet optics during the acceleration stage: space charge repulsion and the deflection induced by the permanent magnets (called co-extracted electron suppression magnets) embedded in the EG. The purpose of this work is to evaluate and compare benefits, collateral effects, and limitations of electrical and magnetic compensation methods for beamlet deflection. The study of these methods has been carried out by means of numerical modeling tools: multi-beamlet simulations have been performed for the first time.

First experiments with the negative ion source NIO1

Neutral Beam Injectors (NBIs), which need to be strongly optimized in the perspective of DEMO reactor, request a thorough understanding of the negative ion source used and of the multi-beamlet optics. A relatively compact radio frequency (rf) ion source, named NIO1 (Negative Ion Optimization 1), with 9 beam apertures for a total H(-) current of 130 mA, 60 kV acceleration voltage, was installed at Consorzio RFX, including a high voltage deck and an X-ray shield, to provide a test bench for source optimizations for activities in support to the ITER NBI test facility. NIO1 status and plasma experiments both with air and with hydrogen as filling gas are described. Transition from a weak plasma to an inductively coupled plasma is clearly evident for the former gas and may be triggered by rising the rf power (over 0.5 kW) at low pressure (equal or below 2 Pa). Transition in hydrogen plasma requires more rf power (over 1.5 kW).

Final design of the beam source for the MITICA injector

The megavolt ITER injector and concept advancement experiment is the prototype and the test bed of the ITER heating and current drive neutral beam injectors, currently in the final design phase, in view of the installation in Padova Research on Injector Megavolt Accelerated facility in Padova, Italy. The beam source is the key component of the system, as its goal is the generation of the 1 MeV accelerated beam of deuterium or hydrogen negative ions. This paper presents the highlights of the latest developments for the finalization of the MITICA beam source design, together with a description of the most recent analyses and R&D activities carried out in support of the design.

Optics of the NIFS negative ion source test stand by infrared calorimetry and numerical modelling

At National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), a multi-ampere negative ion source is used to support the R&D 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.

Negative ion production and beam extraction processes in a large ion source (invited)

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 H2 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 different response against the penetration of electric fields.

Numerical simulations of the first operational conditions of the negative ion test facility SPIDER

In view of the realization of the negative ion beam injectors for ITER, a test facility, named SPIDER, is under construction in Padova (Italy) to study and optimize production and extraction of negative ions. The present paper is devoted to the analysis of the expected first operations of SPIDER in terms of single-beamlet and multiple-beamlet simulations of the hydrogen beam optics in various operational conditions. The effectiveness of the methods adopted to compensate for the magnetic deflection of the particles is also assessed. Indications for a sequence of the experimental activities are obtained.

Comparative study of beam losses and heat loads reduction methods in MITICA beam source

In negative ion electrostatic accelerators a considerable fraction of extracted ions is lost by collision processes causing efficiency loss and heat deposition over the components. Stripping is proportional to the local density of gas, which is steadily injected in the plasma source; its pumping from the extraction and acceleration stages is a key functionality for the prototype of the ITER Neutral Beam Injector, and it can be simulated with the 3D code AVOCADO. Different geometric solutions were tested aiming at the reduction of the gas density. The parameter space considered is limited by constraints given by optics, aiming, voltage holding, beam uniformity, and mechanical feasibility. The guidelines of the optimization process are presented together with the proposed solutions and the results of numerical simulations.

Physics design of the injector source for ITER neutral beam injector (invited)

Two Neutral Beam Injectors (NBI) are foreseen to provide a substantial fraction of the heating power necessary to ignite thermonuclear fusion reactions in ITER. The development of the NBI system at unprecedented parameters (40 A of negative ion current accelerated up to 1 MV) requires the realization of a full scale prototype, to be tested and optimized at the Test Facility under construction in Padova (Italy). The beam source is the key component of the system and the design of the multi-grid accelerator is the goal of a multi-national collaborative effort. In particular, beam steering is a challenging aspect, being a tradeoff between requirements of the optics and real grids with finite thickness and thermo-mechanical constraints due to the cooling needs and the presence of permanent magnets. In the paper, a review of the accelerator physics and an overview of the whole R&D physics program aimed to the development of the injector source are presented.

Cancellation of the ion deflection due to electron-suppression magnetic field in a negative-ion accelerator

A new magnetic configuration is proposed for the suppression of co-extracted electrons in a negative-ion accelerator. This configuration is produced by an arrangement of permanent magnets embedded in one accelerator grid and creates an asymmetric local magnetic field on the upstream and downstream sides of this grid. Thanks to the "concentration" of the magnetic field on the upstream side of the grid, the resulting deflection of the ions due to magnetic field can be "intrinsically" cancelled by calibrating the configuration of permanent magnets. At the same time, the suppression of co-extracted electrons can be improved.

Progress in the MITICA beam source design

In the framework of the development of the ITER neutral beam (NB) system, a test facility is planned to be built in Padova. A full size prototype of the ITER heating NB injector (MITICA) shall be built and tested at full beam power (17 MW) as per ITER requirements. The design of the MITICA beam source has further progressed following updated optimization and overall integration criteria. In the paper, the major design choices and revisions are presented, together with some results of numerical analyses carried out in order to assess the electrostatic and thermo-mechanical behaviour of the source.

Concepts for the magnetic design of the MITICA neutral beam test facility ion accelerator

The megavolt ITER injector concept advancement neutral injector test facility will be constituted by a RF-driven negative ion source and by an electrostatic Accelerator, designed to produce a negative Ion with a specific energy up to 1 MeV. The beam is then neutralized in order to obtain a focused 17 MW neutral beam. The magnetic configuration inside the accelerator is of crucial importance for the achievement of a good beam efficiency, with the early deflection of the co-extracted and stripped electrons, and also of the required beam optic quality, with the correction of undesired ion beamlet deflections. Several alternative magnetic design concepts have been considered, comparing in detail the magnetic and beam optics simulation results, evidencing the advantages and drawbacks of each solution both from the physics and engineering point of view.