Development of plasma beam irradiation facility using applied-field MPD thruster to study plasma-surface interactions

Abstract

A plasma beam irradiation facility was developed based on the applied-field magnetoplasmadynamic (AF-MPD) thruster concept for studying plasma-surface interactions. The AF-MPD thruster was chosen because it can produce a plasma beam with high plasma density in continuous-wave mode. Two types of AF-MPD thruster were developed and used in this study: a type I source with a wide thruster channel was used for a heat flux test with Ar or Xe gas, while a type II source with a narrow thruster channel was used for an ion flux test with H2 or He gas. The plasma initially showed the characteristics of abnormal glow discharges and then a transition to arc occurred when the plasma current exceeded a threshold value. It was found that a cathode made of thoriated tungsten significantly lowered the threshold current for the transition from abnormal glow to arc. The maximum heat flux provided by our facility was measured to be 7 MW m−2 using a custom-made heat flux sensor, while the maximum hydrogen ion flux was measured to be 1 × 1023 m−2 s−1 using a Langmuir probe. The electron temperature ranged between (4–5) eV, while the electron density at the plasma plume (downstream) ranged between (1–4) × 1018 m−3.