Novel differential pumping system with extended sampling range: Design and application in the EAST tokamak

Abstract

A novel differential pumping system (DPS) with an adjustable sampling rate has been developed and implemented in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). This system is equipped with a high-resolution quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS), covering a mass range of 1–16 atomic mass units (AMU), alongside a conventional QMS with a broader range of 1–200 AMU. The DPS features a dynamic pressure sampling capability from 10−2 to 105 Pa, utilizing a gas dosing valve and an angle valve, enabling a wide gas sampling ratio range of 10−9 to 3 × 10−2. The high-resolution QMS (QMG700) is adept at directly quantifying the partial pressures of deuterium and helium within mixtures, while the conventional QMS (RGA200) offers indirect measurement of D2 partial pressures above 2 × 10−5 Pa, complemented by direct wide-range mass analysis. During the EAST tokamak campaigns of 2023 and 2024, the DPS was effectively utilized for glow discharge cleaning (GDC) at a pressure of 3 Pa and ion cyclotron wall conditioning (ICWC) at approximately 3 × 10−3 Pa, accurately distinguishing deuterium pressure from the helium environment in the wide pressure range of vacuum vessel. Moreover, the DPS was successfully employed to trace the vacuum leak location in EAST campaign with a pressure of up to hundreds Pa. This DPS is a key tool for gas ingredient analysis and leak detection in the EAST campaigns, providing a valuable reference for the vacuum operation of future fusion reactors.