Diagnosis of a hydrogen plasma by beams of helium atoms of different energy

Abstract

The underlying theory is described for a method of diagnosing a hydrogen plasma by means of beams of helium atoms of different energy. The range of measured density is 1014 to 1016 cm−3 with a length of plasma section probed ≈ 10 cm. The highest accuracy (≈ ± 20%) is attained in the middle of the range. The accuracy in measuring electron temperature from 10 to 50 eV is no worse than 10–30%. Higher temperatures can be determined with an accuracy of the same order. Methods have been developed in recent years for active diagnosis of a high-temperature plasma using beams of fast neutral particles [1–5]. These methods, in spite of involving somewhat unwieldy apparatus, promise to permit the study of a plasma in the range of parameters difficult to investigate by traditional methods (probes, microwave equipment, and so on). In addition, they have relatively high timewise and spatial resolutions and are noncontact methods in practice.