Modification of exposure conditions by the magnetic field configuration in helicon antenna-excited helium plasma

Abstract

Modification of exposure conditions downstream in the diffusion chamber has been performed in helicon antenna-excited helium plasma by adjusting the magnetic field (intensity and geometry). In the inductively coupled mode (H mode), a reduction in ion and heat fluxes is found with increasing magnetic field intensity, which is further explained by the more highly magnetized ions off-axis around the last magnetic field lines (LMFL). However, in helicon wave mode (W mode), the increase in magnetic field intensity can dramatically increase the ion and heat fluxes. Moreover, the effect of LMFL geometry on exposure conditions is investigated. In H mode with contracting LMFL, off-axis peaks of both plasma density and electron temperature profiles shift radially inwards, bringing about a beam with better radial uniformity and higher ion and heat fluxes. In W mode, although higher ion and heat fluxes can be achieved with suppressed plasma cross-field diffusion under converging LMFL, the poor radial uniformity and a small beam diameter will limit the size of samples suitable for plasma irradiation experiments.