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     

A Model for DC Interruption in Diffuse Vacuum Arcs

A theoretical model for current interruption in a diffuse vacuum arc with dc commutation is described. Before current zero the interelectrode plasma is modeled as an ion-neutral fluid through which electrons are flowing. After current zero a positive ion sheath grows into the plasma from the former anode, driven by the transient recovery voltage. Using the basic laws of conservation, the decay of the plasma during commutation is evaluated numerically, enabling the post-arc current, the electric field at the former anode, and the power input to this electrode after current zero to be calculated. For copper electrodes, with a commutation time of 30 ?s, the ion density and velocity at current zero are 23 percent and 35 percent of their respective steady state values. The calculated post-arc currents of tens of amps are in good agreement with experimental data. The post-arc data generated with this model can be used to study reignition mechanisms and the interrupting capability of different contact materials.     

Direct currents generated by microwave heating in toroidal plasma

The existence of a direct toroidal current in a magnetized plasma torus heated by microwaves is established experimentally. The dependences of that electric current on microwave power and gas pressure are given. The experimental results are consistent with the theory of non-linear dragging of electrons by waves travelling along the torus.     

高功率微波与电子系统电路单元相互作用的理论分析

利用等离子体理论研究了电路中微波等离子体运动对电容元件的影响, 给出了 可能引起电路扰乱状态的参量条件. 当微波等离子体较稀薄时, 且微波的频率或等离子体电子的渡越时间高到一定程度时, 扰乱阈值与微波频率的平方成正比; 如果微波的频率或等离子体电子的渡越时间低到一定程度时, 其电场的特性接近直流特性, 扰乱阈值与微波频率没有明显的依赖关系. 从总体上看, 微波频率越低, 越容易扰乱集成电路的工作状态. 如果等离子体频率与高功率微波频率相接近, 则会产生共振效应, 此时等离子体电子的振荡的幅值会大幅度提高, 更容易扰乱电路的工作状态.     

Langmuir probe study in the nonresonant current drive regime of helicon discharge

Characterization of the current drive regime is done for helicon wave-generated plasma in a torus, at a very high operating frequency. A radiofrequency-compensated Langmuir probe is designed and used for the measurement of plasma parameters along with the electron energy distributions in radial scans of the plasma. The electron energy distribution patterns obtained in the operational regime suggest that Landau damping cannot be responsible for the efficient helicon discharge in the present study. A typical peaked radial density profile, high plasma temperature and absence of an appreciable amount of energetic electrons for resonant wave-particle interactions, suggest that the chosen operational regime is suitable for the study of nonresonant current drive by helicon wave. Successful and significant current drive achieved in our device clearly demonstrates the capability of nonresonant current drive by helicon waves in the present operational regime.      

The two independent equations of circuits in integral form of field theory:The fundamental law of circuits

1 Introduction Historically, circuit theory was initially considered as a part of the electromagnetic theory. Later on, it branched out to become an independent theory. After several stages of its development, Kirchhoff’s law was commonly regarded as the fundamental law of circuits[1]. Especially after the 1960s, the completely topological formulation of Kirchhoff’s law made even more important contribution to the development of moderncircuit theory. However, it has been also known for a l…     

Choice of targets for inertial confinement fusion

We propose a simple target in the form of a miniature torus, in which the heavy shell is used to confine the plasma spread, for a solution of the laser-fusion problem. We achieve a significant decrease of heat losses using an external magnetic field and/or as a result of a self-sustaining magnetic field that is generated in the plasma. We formulate the conditions and determine the energy of the laser pulse (or of a beam of fast charged particles) required to ignite a thermonuclear DD reaction and obtain a positive energy yield. We show that the stopping range of α-particles does not exceed the small radius of the torus within a broad range of the plasma and magnetic-field parameters.     

Runaway-Ströme hoher Intensität in einer toroidalen Entladung

Intensive currents of runaway electrons with energies of 50 keV or more have been observed at high pressures in a plasma betatron in addition to betatron accelerated electrons at lower pressures. The measurements agree with the assumption that these electrons are accelerated in the external field while they are guided by the self magnetic field of the plasma current. Macroscopic instabilities and plasma waves can be excluded as accelerating mechanisms. The strong dependence of the runaway flux upon the gas pressure and the electric field can be explained by collisions between electrons and the other plasma particles. Furthermore the influence of the external magnetic field on the movement of the plasma current to the torus wall was investigated. A maximum circulating runaway current of more than 2000 A (Xenon) appeared when the plasma current was kept approximately in balance by the external magnetic field.     

Quantum motion on a torus as a submanifold problem in a generalized Dirac’s theory of second-class constraints

A generalization of Dirac’s canonical quantization scheme for a system with second-class constraints is proposed, in which the fundamental commutation relations are constituted by all commutators between positions, momenta and Hamiltonian, so they are simultaneously quantized in a self-consistent manner, rather than by those between merely positions and momenta which leads to ambiguous forms of the Hamiltonian and the momenta. The application of the generalized scheme to the quantum motion on a torus leads to a remarkable result: the quantum theory is inconsistent if built up in an intrinsic geometric manner, whereas it becomes consistent within an extrinsic examination of the torus as a submanifold in three dimensional flat space with the use of the Cartesian coordinate system. The geometric momentum and potential are then reasonably reproduced.     

Progress in Switching Technology for Mets Systems

Three distinct sets of switching requirements have emerged from design optimization studies of large superconducting magnetic energy storage systems, such as the METS system to power the adiabatic plasma compression field in the proposed ?-pinch SFTR. Extremely low joule loss cryogenic disconnects are required between storage coils in the liquid helium environment to allow charging the coils in series over a prolonged time, then to isolate the coils for parallel fast discharging into the load. Another switch must break the current in the series charging loop and absorb the energy from the stray inductance. This action will allow the subsequent opening of the cryogenic disconnects under near zero current condition. The current now has been transferred to the many paralled circuits, each containing a high current, high voltage interrupter. The opening and arc commutation of the interrupter starts the energy transfer into the load. The primary activities associated with the cryogenic disconnect have been testing and development of contact materials, configurations, and closing forces for carrying 26 kA with a resistance less than 40 n?, and development of an actuating system that is both reliable and fast acting in a liquid helium environment. The charging loop switch will include a continuous duty switch and a vacuum interrupter. The continuous duty switch resistance can be an order of magnitude larger than that of the cryogenic disconnect because it does not present a refrigeration load.     

Measurement of ion parameters during a forced switching off ofcurrent in vacuum

This paper presents the results of ion parameters measured during a forced current commutation of a diffuse vacuum arc, aimed at evaluating the role of ions in discharges occurring rarely after the counterpulse commutation process, in a contact arrangement corresponding to a low-voltage vacuum switch. A sinusoidal half-wave current was interrupted near its amplitude of 400 A with a counterpulse of rise velocities 2.4 and 32 A/μs. In this way, a forced switching off of dc current was modeled. A retarding field analyzer was used for ion parameter measurements at the forced commutation process. Ion potentials up to 100 V were measured at the current zero moment, and the average decay times of ions after current zero were in the range from a few microseconds up to 30 μs as a function of observed ion potential. The measured values of decay times show the rather negligible role of ions in the discharge process after the counterpulse commutation in the examined contact arrangement. The rise time of the countercurrent is proposed as a factor in the successful forced current commutation under these conditions, and values up to a few amperes per microsecond of countercurrent rise velocity can be considered as the limit value     

Efficient generation of closed magnetic flux surfaces in a large spherical tokamak using coaxial helicity injection

A method of coaxial helicity injection has successfully produced a closed flux current without the use of the central solenoid in the NSTX device, on a size scale closer to a spherical torus reactor, for a proof-of-principle demonstration of this concept. For the first time, a remarkable 60 times current multiplication factor was achieved. Grad-Shafranov plasma equilibrium reconstructions are used to verify the existence of closed flux current. In some discharges the generated current persists for a surprisingly long time approximately 400 ms.     

Control of High Power Pulsed Magnetron Discharge by Monitoring the Current Voltage Characteristics

Discharge current voltage (IV) curves are directly measured at the target of a high impulse power magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) plasma for the target materials aluminium, chromium, titanium and copper. These discharge IV curves have been correlated with ICCD camera images of the plasma torus. A clear connection between the change in the discharge IV curve slopes at specific currents and the appearance of localized ionization zones, so‐called spokes, in a HiPIMS plasma is identified. These spokes appear above typical target current densities of 2 A/cm². The slope of the discharge IV curves, at current densities when spokes are formed, depends on the mass of the target atoms with a higher plasma conductivity for higher mass target materials. This is explained by the momentum transfer from the sputter wind to the argon background gas, which leads to higher plasma densities for heavier target materials. The change in the VI curve slope can be used to identify the spokes regime for HiPIMS plasmas, as being mandatory for deposition of good quality materials by HiPIMS. Consequently, the discharge IV curve slope monitoring can be regarded an essential control approach of any industrial HiPIMS process, where discharge IV curves are much easier accessible compared to more complex diagnostics such as time and space resolved ICCD camera measurements. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A CONCEPT FOR NEXT STEP ADVANCED TOKAMAK FUSION DEVICE

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亚ns激光脉冲电取样方法

 针对亚ns激光脉冲,提出一种基于ps脉冲传输线和高速电子电路的电快脉冲取样方法,设计了选通脉冲产生电路和高速取样保持电路,给出一种提高实时采样速率的交叉采样方法,该方法由并联结构的多组取样门阵列实现。可应用于多路激光脉冲的精密测量。     

Elektronenbeschleunigung in einem Plasmabetatron mit und ohne hohem Leitungsstrom

A previous paper by Drees and Paul reported measurements on a plasma betatron. The study was continued using a betatron field with a vector potential taking into account the self magnetic field of a plasma current. The plasma was produced by a high frequency electric quadrupole field without an azimuthal magnetic field. The bremsstrahlung intensity of the accelerated electrons was observed as a function of gas pressure and accelerating field. The maximum energy of the electrons was 1.3 MeV compared to 1.5 MeV given by the field parameters. The maximum number in this energy range was about 10¹⁰ per pulse corresponding to a circulating runaway current of ～ 1 A. The conduction current was drasticly reduced by coating the inner wall of the quartz glass torus with a thin layer of graphite. This change in the plasma current did not influence the γ radiation intensity.     

Direct transition from a stable equilibrium to quasiperiodicity in non-smooth systems

The purpose of this Letter is to show how a border-collision bifurcation in a piecewise-smooth dynamical system can produce a direct transition from a stable equilibrium point to a two-dimensional invariant torus. Considering a system of nonautonomous differential equations describing the behavior of a power electronic DC/DC converter, we first determine the chart of dynamical modes and show that there is a region of parameter space in which the system has a single stable equilibrium point. Under variation of the parameters, this equilibrium may collide with a discontinuity boundary between two smooth regions in phase space. When this happens, one can observe a number of different bifurcation scenarios. One scenario is the continuous transformation of the stable equilibrium into a stable period-1 cycle. Another is the transformation of the stable equilibrium into an unstable period-1 cycle with complex conjugate multipliers, and the associated formation of a two-dimensional (ergodic or resonant) torus.     

Plasmas meet plasmonics

The term ‘plasmon’ was first coined in 1956 to describe collective electronic oscillations in solids which were very similar to electronic oscillations/surface waves in a plasma discharge (effectively the same formulae can be used to describe the frequencies of these physical phenomena). Surface waves originating in a plasma were initially considered to be just a tool for basic research, until they were successfully used for the generation of large-area plasmas for nanoscale materials synthesis and processing. To demonstrate the synergies between ‘plasmons’ and ‘plasmas’, these large-area plasmas can be used to make plasmonic nanostructures which functionally enhance a range of emerging devices. The incorporation of plasma-fabricated metal-based nanostructures into plasmonic devices is the missing link needed to bridge not only surface waves from traditional plasma physics and surface plasmons from optics, but also, more topically, macroscopic gaseous and nanoscale metal plasmas. This article first presents a brief review of surface waves and surface plasmons, then describe how these areas of research may be linked through Plasma Nanoscience showing, by closely looking at the essential physics as well as current and future applications, how everything old, is new, once again.     

Border collision route to quasiperiodicity: Numerical investigation and experimental confirmation

Numerical studies of higher-dimensional piecewise-smooth systems have recently shown how a torus can arise from a periodic cycle through a special type of border-collision bifurcation. The present article investigates this new route to quasiperiodicity in the two-dimensional piecewise-linear normal form map. We have obtained the chart of the dynamical modes for this map and showed that border-collision bifurcations can lead to the birth of a stable closed invariant curve associated with quasiperiodic or periodic dynamics. In the parameter regions leading to the existence of an invariant closed curve, there may be transitions between an ergodic torus and a resonance torus, but the mechanism of creation for the resonance tongues is distinctly different from that observed in smooth maps. The transition from a stable focus point to a resonance torus may lead directly to a new focus of higher periodicity, e.g., a period-5 focus. This article also contains a discussion of torus destruction via a homoclinic bifurcation in the piecewise-linear normal map. Using a dc-dc converter with two-level control as an example, we report the first experimental verification of the direct transition to quasiperiodicity through a border-collision bifurcation.     

一种高速双光路并行数据采集系统的设计

本文提出了用时分复用方法实现双光路并行信号的模数转换方案,讨论了保证精度和并行性的条件,如A/D转换器精度、信号的频率和孔径误差等,给出了相应的计算公式,在此基础上,介绍了一种高速双光路并行数据采集系统的设计及其应用。在此系统中,用PLD设计的状态机是实时读取数据的关键部分。