EUV spectroscopy on the SSPX spheromak

Abstract

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) plasma spectroscopy is one the diagnostics implemented at the Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment (SSPX) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. A grating spectrometer covering the spectral region of 25 - 450 Å with a resolution of 0.3 Å was used as an impurity diagnostic to monitor the plasmas and to carry out atomic physics research. Several low-Z impurities have been found in the spheromak, notably B, C, N, and O. Of the heavier elements, Ti, Cu, and W were found in the plasmas. As a relatively dense and low-temperature laboratory plasma device, SSPX served as an excellent radiation source for investigation of atomic spectra in a regime not readily attained in other devices. We have injected atomic titanium and tungsten hexacarbonyl into the spheromak under different operating conditions. We also report on electron temperature and electron density measurements based on the Kα lines from B IV at 60 Å.