THE INFLUENCE OF ELECTRON OSCILLATION ON PLASMA TRANSPORT THROUGH A MAGNETIC DUCT

A magnetic duct is inserted between the cathodic arc plasma source and the chamber to eliminate the macroparticles. In this paper, the plasma output of the magnetic duct is determined as a function of the magnetic field and the bias voltage under the Bilek biasing mode and entire duct biasing mode. The computer simulation and the experimental result indicate that the ${\vec E}\times{\vec B}$ drift results in an extra diffusion flux under the Bilek biasing mode. The test verifying the electron oscillation was conducted in the magnetic duct biased in the Bilek mode. The electron behaviour under Bilek biasing mode is different from that under entire duct biasing mode. The Bilek biasing mode has a lower plasma output than the entire duct biasing mode.     

Interactions of the directed plasma from a cathodic arc withelectrodes and magnetic fields

Curved magnetic ducts are frequently used to remove macroscopic-sized droplets from the plasma stream of cathodic vacuum arcs. The plasma of a cathodic vacuum arc in a magnetic filter is characterized by a strongly directional ion velocity (corresponding to 20-100 eV) and magnetized electrons. In the first section of this paper the effects of these features on the I-V characteristic curves of planar probes are identified and explained using a simple model. This is then used to interpret the interaction of the plasma with the walls of a biased quarter torus duct. Two small electrodes placed on the outer and inner sections of the curved duct wall show that the I-V characteristic is determined primarily by the electron-ion current balance at the wall on the outside of the curve. The application of a bias to a planar electrode on the outer wall section was found to give the same increase in throughput as a positive bias applied to the entire duct with the advantage of a much smaller electron current being drawn by the biasing power supply. The improvement in duct throughput achievable with positive-biasing of the duct wall was found to depend on both the configuration and strength of the magnetic field in the quarter torus filter. The plasma density profile and potential were unaffected by the application of the bias     

Plasma diffusion and transport in a magnetic duct filter

A cathodic arc plasma source equipped with a curved magnetic duct to filter macro-particles was used to study plasma diffusion and transport in the duct. We determine the optimal duct bias, at which the magnetic duct produces the maximum plasma output, for titanium cathodic arc plasma at 50, 100 and 150 A arc current, and we investigate the parametric effects of the arc current and guiding magnetic field on the optimal duct bias. The optimal bias decreases as the guiding magnetic field increases from 0.01 to 0.04T and is almost independent of the guiding magnetic field when the magnetic field strength ranges from 0.04 to 0.06T, the upper limit for our equipment. The optimal duct bias at 0.04T guiding magnetic field decreases with increasing arc current.     

Transport of a cathodic arc plasma in a straight, magnetized duct

Measurements are presented of the transport of a supersonic, cathodic-arc plasma through a straight, magnetized duct. These measurements are compared to previous work on curved ducts, in order to illuminate the effect of duct curvature on the transport. The axial ion flux through the straight duct decays as ions are lost to the walls. This decay is exponential, with a scale length of seven duct radii; this is two to three times longer than in most experiments on curved ducts. The scale length is independent of the magnetic field strength for fields from 5-40 mT. (For this range of magnetic fields, the electron Larmor radius varies from 0.03-0.003 duct radii; while the ion Larmor radius varies from 4-0.5 duct radii.) This differs from previous experiments with curved ducts, where the attenuation length generally increases with magnetic field. Also in contrast to experiments on curved ducts, biasing the duct wall to positive voltages similar to the ion energy produces only a slight decrease in the ion losses to the wall. The observed scale length for ion loss and its independence from the magnetic field strength are in quantitative agreement with a plasma fluid simulation. Differences in plasma transport through straight and curved ducts are discussed     

Macroparticle filtering of high-current vacuum arc plasmas

The transport of vacuum arc plasmas through a 90° curved magnetic macroparticle filter was investigated using a high-current pulsed arc source with a carbon cathode. The peak arc current was in the kiloampere range, exceeding considerably the level of what has been reported in the literature. The main question investigated was whether magnetic macroparticle filters could be scaled up while maintaining the transport efficiency of small filters. In front of the cathode, we found that arc current dependent total ion saturation currents were in the range from 10% to 23% of the arc current. The best relative transmission was 25% (time integrated output/time integrated input) at a duct wall bias of 12.5 V and at an axial magnetic field of about 100 mT. The measured relative transmission of the used high-current arrangement is comparable to what has been observed with other low-current filters. The absolute measurable ion saturation currents at the filter exit reached 70 A at an arc current of about 1000 A     

柱面内爆磁通量压缩实验中的磁扩散过程

利用一维磁流体力学程序MC11D,对套筒材料为不锈钢的柱面内爆磁通量压缩实验进行了数值模拟,研究了其中的磁扩散过程。计算结果表明:当套筒空腔中的磁场被压缩到350 T左右时,峭面磁扩散波开始形成,磁扩散波的波前从套筒内壁开始以0.75 km/s的平均速度向外快速推进,给磁场的压缩带来了不利影响;随着套筒内壁温度迅速升高,内壁附近会形成一个电阻率仅有0.3 mcm左右的等离子体保护层,又极大地减缓了空腔磁场向套筒中扩散的速度。在磁压缩过程中,峭面磁扩散波和等离子体层对于空腔磁场的扩散起着相反的作用,两者在发展的过程中相互竞争,在不同的阶段分别起着主导作用。     

THE EFFECT OF MESH ANODE ON CATHODIC ARC IN FOCUSING MAGNETIC FIELD

The performance and characteristics of a cathodic arc deposition apparatus consisting of a titanium cathode, an anode with and without a tungsten mesh, and a coil producing a focusing magnetic field between the anode and cathode are investigated. The arc voltage V_a is measured with a fixed arc current. The relationship between V_a and the magnetic field B with and without a mesh is obtained. In addition, the relationship between the arc current I_a and V_c, the voltage to which the artificial transmission line was charged, is measured with and without the mesh to determine the minimum ignition voltage for the arc. The arc resistance increases with the focusing magnetic strength B and decreases when using the mesh. Our results indicate that the high transparency and large area of the mesh allows a high plasma flux to penetrate the anode from the cathodic arc. The mesh also stabilizes the cathodic arc and gives better performance when used in concert with a focusing magnetic field.     

Simulation of plasma flow in toroidal solenoid filters

An improved drift approximation model with an added radial electrostatic field has been successfully developed. Our model provides a computationally efficient way of quantitatively describing the plasma motion and predicting the plasma behavior in the toroidal solenoid in a filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) system. Storer's (1989) experimental results have been successfully simulated by this model. A good quantitative fit is obtained for our simulation results to the measured ion currents versus distance along the torus for various B field strengths, the attenuation length, and the wall current. The model describes the change of plasma density along the torus and provides the value of the electron-ion collision frequency at various conditions. The effect of the magnetic field and radial electric field on the plasma transportation can be assessed by the simulation and various plasma parameters can be determined. It is found that the radial electric field confines the 3-directional drift of the ions and is one of the most important parameters in determining the ion throughput. For any given B field strength and plasma parameters, there is a peak ion output corresponding to an optimal potential difference which can be obtained by the simulation. Over three times more ion output can be achieved when the torus wall is appropriately biased     

Design and construction of hot limiter biasing system for the tokamak

A hot limiter biasing system with a simplified fast switch circuit was designed, constructed, and installed on the IR-T1 tokamak, and then the negative voltage applied to a hot limiter inserted inside the tokamak fixed limiter and the plasma current, poloidal, and radial components of the magnetic fields, loop voltage, diamagnetic flux, and the ion saturation currents in the absence and presence of the biased limiter were measured. Results of measurements of biasing effects on the plasma equilibrium behavior and edge plasma rotation are compared and discussed.     

Neutron flux distribution on the wall of toroidal controlled thermonuclear reactor devices with elongated cross section

The neutron flux distribution on the wall of a toroidal CTR device with strongly elongated cross section is calculated. On the inner and outer cylindrical walls (belt-pinch device) the flux distribution has a plateau region with a half-width equal to about the height of the plasma. The maximum flux is found on the outer cylinder and in the symmetry plane (z ₀=0). The neutron flux asymmetry and reductionη of the mean wall loading are determined. For standard data anη of 57% is computed. This is mainly due to the flux profiles on the cylindrical walls and does not depend sensitively on the toroidal curvature. For standard parameters the inner cylinder absorbs 22.6%, the outer cylinder 68.6% and the end plates together 8.8% of the total neutron emission. The corresponding values for a straight device with the same coil and plasma cross section are 44%, 44% and 12%. A reduction of toroidal curvature diminishes flux asymmetry between the inner and outer cylinders. The maximum flux and minimumη-value are obtained at a large torus radius equal to two times the coil width. For small aspect ratios (R _t W0.5) the neutron flux through the inner cylinder becomes so small that its interior may be filled with a material other than a blanket material, e.g. with an iron core.     

含氢电极真空弧放电等离子体时空分布特性研究

真空弧离子源在真空镀膜、材料表面改性、真空大电流开关、加速器离子注入等领域有广泛应用,目前国内外对真空弧放电等离子体的研究主要针对纯金属或合金电极,对含氢电极的研究和公开报道较少.本文利用高时空分辨的四分幅图像诊断系统,结合氢和钛原子特征线单色器件,研究了含氢钛电极的真空弧微秒级脉冲放电等离子体的轴向和径向时空分布特性.研究表明:在真空击穿阶段,阳极区域发光更为明显,阳极电极解吸附释放的氢原子是引发击穿的主要放电介质;在真空弧阶段,阴极-绝缘-真空三结合点处产生圆锥状阴极斑,喷射出大量的等离子体以维持弧放电,同时电极内壁非阴极斑区域也有少量等离子体产生,等离子体中H原子的轴向和径向空间分布均比Ti原子均匀.     

空心圆管端点附近等离子体源离子注入过程中鞘层的时空演化

等离子体源离子注入过程中，鞘层的演化规律直接影响到离子注入到材料中的深度进而影响材料表面的性质和结构，对材料的不同部位这种影响是不同的.利用无碰撞两维流体动力学模型，研究了有限上升时间的电压脉冲作用下，共轴放置附加零电极的半无限空心圆管端点附近等离子体源离子注入过程中，鞘层的时空演化规律.通过计算得到了鞘层内随时间变化的电势分布和离子密度分布，计算了端点附近材料表面处的离子流密度分布和注入剂量分布随时间的变化规律.计算机模拟结果显示了空心圆管内部、外部及端点表面处的离子流密度分布和注入剂量分布存在很大差异.     

Particle‐in‐Cell Simulations for Ion Thrusters

The Particle‐in‐Cell (PIC) method was used to study two different ion thruster concepts: Hall Effect Thrusters (HETs) and High Efficiency Multistage Plasma Thrusters (HEMPs), in particular the plasma properties in the discharge chamber due to the different magnetic field configurations. Special attention was paid to the simulation of plasma particles fluxes on the thrusters inner surfaces. In both cases PIC proved itself as a powerful tool, delivering important insight into the basic physics of the different thruster concepts.The simulations demonstrated that the new HEMP thruster concept allows for a high thermal efficiency due to both minimal energy dissipation and high acceleration efficiency. In the HEMP thruster the plasma contact to the wall is limited only to very small areas of the magnetic field cusps, which results in much smaller ion flux to the thruster channel surface as compared to HET. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

随机磁场中的反常扩散效应

本文讨论了随机磁场中反常扩散效应的特征,导出了扩散流及电场随时间变化的公式,指出,趋向于稳态所需的时间远小于粒子约束时间,因而反常扩散基本上是准稳态的形式。此时,存在明显的双极电场,而双极扩散流基本上是离子扩散的量级。 关键词：     

带状真空电弧磁过滤器等离子体分布特性及制备类金刚石膜研究

采用大尺寸矩形石墨靶作为真空阴极电弧源, 研制了带状真空电弧磁过滤器. 使用法拉第杯和朗缪尔探针对90 ℃弯曲磁过滤器中的带状等离子体出口所在平面的15个区域的离子能量和密度进行了测试; 用该带状真空电弧磁过滤器制备了类金刚石膜(diamond-like carbon, DLC); 对相应位置上的类金刚石膜进行了Raman分析和膜厚测量. 结果表明: 磁过滤器出口所在平面的15个划分区域中离子能量分布接近麦克斯韦分布, 离子能量分布与类金刚石膜的结构具有明显的对应特征, 离子密度分布与DLC膜膜厚分布相互之间具有相关性.     

5MW中性束弧电源DC/DC变换器的设计与实现

中性束离子源弧放电具有气体放电等离子体的非线性特性,工作时还会受到气体压强、外磁场、阴极状态等因素的影响,采用晶闸管相控调压技术的弧电源很难实现对这种大功率电弧的稳定的闭环控制。为此,提出了一种多相多重的大电流DC/DC变换器,具有响应速度快、电流上升时间短、电流纹波小等特点,大幅提高了离子源弧放电闭环控制的稳定性。设计了滤波电感能量回馈电路,弧电源可以根据中性束系统的需要使弧电流快速减小0%~100%(可调),然后根据控制信号迅速恢复正常弧电流输出,形成一个弧电流凹坑。电源还采用超级电容储能技术,使电源体积减小了2/3,电网容量小于10kV·A。离子源放电时不会受到电网波动的影响,弧放电更加稳定。实验数据显示:该电源最大输出为220kW/1500A,电流纹波在1%以内,电流上升时间约100μs,最大超调量小于3%,可以满足5 MW中性束离子源及系统的要求。     

纵磁作用下真空电弧单阴极斑点等离子体射流三维混合模拟

真空电弧的特性直接受到从阴极斑点喷射出的等离子体射流的影响,对等离子体射流进行数值仿真有助于我们深入了解真空电弧的内部物理机制.然而,磁流体动力学和粒子云网格仿真方法受限于计算精度和计算效率的原因,无法有效地应用于真空电弧等离子体射流仿真模拟.本文开发了一套三维等离子体混合模拟算法,并在此基础上建立了真空电弧单阴极斑点射流仿真模型,模型中将离子作宏粒子考虑,而电子作无质量流体处理,仿真计算了自生电磁场与外施纵向磁场作用下等离子体的分布运动状态.仿真结果表明,单个阴极斑点情况下真空等离子体射流在离开阴极斑点后扩散至极板间,其整体几何形状为圆锥形,离子密度从阴极到阳极快速下降.外施纵向磁场会压缩等离子体,使得等离子体射流径向的扩散减少并且轴线上的离子密度升高.随着外施纵向磁场的增大,其对等离子体射流的压缩效应增强,表现为等离子体射流的扩散角度逐渐减小.此外,外施纵向磁场对等离子体射流的影响也受到电弧电流大小的影响,压缩效应随电弧电流的增加而逐渐减弱.     

低混杂波驱动电流对等离子体电导率的影响

本文考虑了波驱动通量对磁场位形以及电子密度和温度的空间分布的依赖,应用伴随关系,计算了低混杂波驱动的等离子体电导率的空间分布。结果表明,注入功率谱对电导率空间分布的影响相当敏感,等离子体环外侧的电导率略高于内侧的电导率。但是不论在外侧或内侧,随着离子电荷数增大,波驱动的等离子体电导率降低,而它与斯必泽-亥姆电导率之比却增大。     

内/外部励磁方式下高温超导环的俘获场特性

高温超导磁体在闭环运行时,可以提供稳定磁场,但是由于高温超导带材无法实现无阻焊接,成为高温超导磁体闭环运行的技术瓶颈.本文利用第二代高温超导带材制备闭环超导环,采用内部励磁和外部励磁对超导环进行励磁,在液氮温度中(77 K)测量超导环的中心俘获磁场.结果表明超导环在内部励磁俘获的磁场值比外部励磁俘获的磁场值高;外部励磁中,超导环中插入铁芯柱能提高俘获场;内部励磁中,超导环在螺线管闭环运行俘获的磁场值比开环运行俘获的磁场值高.结果对于高温超导闭环磁体励磁和高温超导带材磁通动力学研究具有很重要参考价值.