Electron Cyclotron Resonance Research Articles

Analysis of a cusped helicon plasma thruster discharge

Experiments and simulations are used to analyze a compact helicon plasma thruster with a cusp in its internal magnetic field. The former rely on a compensated Langmuir probe and a Faraday cup, while the latter employ a hybrid PIC/fluid transport model combined with a frequency-domain electromagnetic field model. Measurements serve to tune the anomalous transport parameters of the model and overall show the same trends as the numerical results, including a secondary peak of electron temperature downstream in the magnetic nozzle, where electron cyclotron resonance conditions for the 13.56 MHz excitation frequency are met. The cusp plays a central role in determining the plasma losses to the walls and the profile of electron temperature, which in turn defines the excitation and ionization losses. While losses to the rear wall are reduced, losses to the lateral wall are increased, which, together with the low production efficiency, limit the performance of the device.

Improvement of miniaturized 2.45 GHz ECR plasma flood gun at PKU

In an ion implanter, plasma flood gun (PFG) is used to provide electrons to neutralize the accumulated charge on the wafer surface to avoid breakdown damage. With the development of ion implantation technology, four key requirements have been put forward for PFG. They are simple structure, plasma with high density and low electron temperature, no metal contamination and long life. The existing PFG, such as the filament type PFG, can hardly meet the above requirements at the same time. 2.45 GHz ECR ion source with the advantages of high beam density, high stability, long life time and no filament metal contamination, has shown great potential to work as PFG. Recently, a miniaturized 2.45 GHz permanent magnet electron cyclotron resonance PFG (PMECR-PFG) has been developed at Peking University (PKU). In our previous test, 8.8 mA electron extraction current was obtained with argon gas. In this work, by optimizing the magnetic field configuration to a resonant configuration, the performance of this ECR-PFG was greatly improved. With 100 W microwave power, an 80 mA electron current load was obtained under the extraction voltage of 0.1 kV. To minimize the metal contamination, a three-slit graphite plasma electrode was fabricated and a 50 mA load was generated at only 30 W RF power. During all tests, the gas consumption rate is lower than 0.6 sccm, which is beneficial to maintain the vacuum of implanter beamline.

Reflection of the Electromagnetic Wave from the Region of Electron Cyclotron Absorption in Thermonuclear Plasma

A new approach to the problem of the passage of the extraordinary wave through the region of the electron–cyclotron resonance in inhomogeneous plasma was considered in the framework of the full set of Maxwell’s equations, taking into account the effects of spatial dispersion and resonance dissipation. For the model one-dimensional geometry, field distributions were calculated in the vicinity of the cyclotron resonance at the second harmonic for the normal incidence of the extraordinary wave and the reflection, transmission, and absorption coefficients were found depending on the parameters of the resonance region. As a result, the fine effect of the reflection of electromagnetic radiation from the cyclotron resonance region in transparent plasma was described and the results were compared with the observations of this effect in the experiments on the microwave heating of the plasma at the L-2M stellarator.

Structural and tribological behaviours of silicon doped amorphous carbon films

We report on the structural evolution and low-friction behaviour of silicon (Si) doped amorphous carbon (a-C) films. Si-doped a-C films were fabricated by controlling the magnetron Si target currents under an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma system. Structural analysis indicated that Si atoms doped into the a-C lattice preferentially replaced certain sp3 C atoms, and subsequently formed bonds with other sp3 C atoms. Nanoindentation and nanoscratch tests showed that the Si-doped a-C films had hard surfaces with a hardness of approximately 24 GPa and a scratch depth of 40–60 nm. Ball-on-disk tribological evaluations further showed that these films exhibited low-friction behaviour, with a minimal friction coefficient of 0.02. Detailed transfer film characterisation revealed the formation of rich oxide and graphene structures within the stable contact-sliding interface of the Si-doped a-C film. The low friction mechanism was summarized as H–H interactions from the surface terminal passivation of Si dangling bond with hydroxide (-OH) or hydrogen (-H) groups and π*-π* interactions occurring between the graphene layers co-reducing the friction force. These findings shed light on the significance of doped Si atoms in the structural design and low-friction applications of carbon films.

Effects of magnetic field configurations on the minimized ECR ion thrusters for micro-Newton and wide-range operations

Space-based gravitational wave detection missions require precise thrusts over a wide-range of 1–100 μN. In this study, the axial ring-cusp magnetic field configuration is used to design a miniature electron cyclotron resonance ion thruster with a radius of 5 mm. Two typical configurations, i.e., open-type and closed-type, are compared in terms of electron density, electron temperature, and thrust for micro-Newton and wide-range operations. The results show that the open-type achieves high performances owing to the high efficiency of absorption of input microwave power. The lower limit of the mass flow rate in the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge is expanded to a very low value of 3 × 10−2 sccm to achieve 1 μN in the open-type. The thrust in the open-type could be tuned in a wide-range of 1–119 μN, meeting the requirement.

Self-mode transition, oscillation and inverse hysteresis in ECR discharges

Positive and negative feedback of microwave (MW) ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) discharges in cross magnetic field were manipulated by a three-stub coaxial tuner. Unstable ECR discharges in the positive feedback region, such as the self-mode transition between the ordinary (O)-wave mode and extraordinary (X) one, inverse hysteresis, and oscillation, were investigated using a time-resolved MW power meter, high speed camera, and thermocouple. In the positive feedback region, the self-O → X wave mode discharge transition can be driven under the “hot” wall condition, while the counterpart, namely the self-X → O wave mode transition, is observable for the “cold” wall; the inverse hysteresis and oscillation take place at low and moderate gas flow rates, respectively. The mechanism underlying the self-mode transitions and instabilities is the discharge shift due to the gas heating effect. For MW ECR discharges to become stable, as indicated in previous experiments, they should be mismatched in the negative feedback region.

Effect of the magnetic field on the electron kinetics under AC/DC electric fields: benchmark calculations and electron cyclotron resonance

This work presents a numerical study of the electron kinetics under AC/DC electric fields and DC magnetic fields crossed at arbitrary angles. The physical phenomena are studied both in model gases (Reid-ramp and Lucas–Saelee) and in real gases (N2 and Ar). The simulations are carried out with an upgraded version of the Monte Carlo open-source code LoKI-MC. The code is compared against several independent benchmark calculations available in the literature. In addition, new benchmark calculations for electron kinetics solvers are produced in conditions of coexistent AC electric and DC magnetic fields, accounting for the effect of the crossing angle between the fields and discriminating the evolution along the AC cycle. The role of the magnetic field is discussed, distinguishing the configurations with DC and AC electric fields. In DC electric fields, the oscillatory motion caused by the magnetic field decreases the efficiency of the electron acceleration, which manifests on the power absorbed by the electric field and on the electron mean energy. Notably, an exceptional behavior is found in Ar for small regions of and , where: for constant , the mean energy decreases with increasing ; and, for constant , it increases with increasing . These phenomena were firstly reported by Ness and Makabe in 2000 and are now confirmed by means of Monte Carlo simulations. In AC electric fields, when the magnetic field value is such that the electron cyclotron frequency is similar to the angular frequency of the electric field, the synchronization of the cyclotron motion with the electric field enhances electron acceleration, through the well-known electron cyclotron resonance. However, for conditions where the mean collision frequency is much higher than the cyclotron frequency, the synchronization tends to breakdown and the magnetic field is detrimental for the electron acceleration, as in the DC electric field case.

Polarization and properties of low-frequency waves in warm magnetized two-fluid plasma

This paper presents the derivation of a general wave dispersion relation for warm magnetized plasma under the two-fluid formalism. The discussion is quite general except for the assumption of low frequency and slow phase speed, for which the displacement current is negligible, under the implicit assumption that the plasma is sufficiently dense to satisfy the condition ωpe>ωce, where ωpe and ωce denote the plasma oscillation frequency and electron gyro frequency, respectively. The present discussion does not invoke charge neutrality associated with the fluctuations although it is implicitly satisfied. The resulting dispersion relation that includes the fluid thermal effects shows that there are three eigen modes, which include those corresponding to ideal MHD, namely, fast, slow, and kinetic Alfvén waves, as well as higher-frequency modes including the ion and electron cyclotron and lower-hybrid resonances. The fluid effects in the ideal MHD wave branches are influenced by the finite Larmor radius scales, and when the wave number in the cross field direction is comparable to these values, the fluid effects become significant. It is found that the Larmor radius should be interpreted in the sense as ion-acoustic gyro-radius instead of ion thermal gyro radius only. That is, it is found that the electrons also contribute to the non-ideal effect associated with the kinetic Alfvén wave. A comprehensive explanation of the polarization of each mode is also presented. The present findings indicate that the polarity may change its sign only for the kinetic Alfvén mode branch and that such a transition is based on the propagation angle. When such a change does take place, it is found that the kinetic Alfvén wave transits to an ion-acoustic mode. For each branch, it is also found that the electric field along the ambient magnetic field is purely transverse.

Volume and surface effects in Cs-free regimes in NIO1

NIO1 (Negative Ion Optimization phase 1) is a compact multiaperture radiofrequency H- ion source whose design was optimized for sustainable prolonged beam on target operation; for installation economy, its size was drastically reduced with respect to fusion device D- sources, down to a plasma volume of 1.6 × 10-3 m-3. Even if Cesium improves H- production as well known, also Cs-free regimes (and intermediate regimes) well deserve some development effort, in view of avoiding long term contamination of the accelerator and for use as cleaning procedure. Data collected by NIO1 in a true Cs-free regime (before 2020) are thus very important, and need a thorough statistical analysis, with special attention to the technique of gas conditioning that was discovered in NIO1 and to the issues concerned with long term operation; N2, Ar, and Xe comparison to oxygen is here shown; all these gases proved useful for conditioning, to different extents. Gas conditioning macroscopically proves the importance of surface effects, even when the final production of H- happens in the source volume. As regards to the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources (ECRIS), exchange of ideas and concepts, such aselectron economyand biased disks, liners and wall coatings, is considered. Gas mixing, conditioning and surface material perspectives are envisioned.

Multi-hole coupling power monitor with tapered sub-waveguide for dual-frequency high-power gyrotron

In magnetically confined fusion plasmas, a gyrotron is an essential auxiliary heating device for generating and sustaining plasma through electron cyclotron resonance heating owing to its ability to generate high-power microwaves. Microwaves emitted from a gyrotron are often transmitted through waveguides, and the transmitted power is monitored by a power monitor with a multi-hole directional coupler at the miter bend of the transmission line. Recently, a high-power dual-frequency gyrotron has been installed and operated in the Large Helical Device. A power monitor with good sensitivity to multiple frequencies is required to monitor the power transmission of the different frequencies at the same transmission line. In order to realize the power monitor, which can couple with the multiple-frequency microwaves, we focused on a sub-waveguide shape in the power monitor and investigated the influence of the tapered sub-waveguide by conducting electromagnetic simulations using a simple model. We also performed the high-power test using a power monitor with a tapered sub-waveguide. The experimental result was different from the simulation, but enough receiving power was obtained at both 116 and 154 GHz.

A sheath correction method for electron density measurements with the microwave resonant curling probe

A correction method accounting for plasma sheath effects that appear when performing an electron density measurement with a microwave resonant probe immersed in plasma is described. The diagnostic is the novel curling probe (CP) that has already shown promising capabilities in various plasma sources. The correction method is based on the evaluation of two effects relative to the resonant probe operation and its interface with the plasma. First, the characteristic decay length of the electromagnetic field emitted by the CP, which defines the probed volume, has been characterized for the different harmonic resonance modes. Second, a semi-analytical model has been adapted to describe the plasma structure forming near the probe, which quantitatively describes the electron density profiles across the sheath structure. The correction method is then developed uniquely from numerical simulations and is independent of other diagnostics. Experimental results inside two plasma sources, an inductively coupled plasma and an electron cyclotron resonance plasma thruster, are presented and discussed. The validity of the method is assessed (i) by comparing CP corrected densities with Langmuir probe results, (ii) by varying the probe orientation to the expanding plasma flow, and (iii) by using two harmonics of the probe. The method is shown to significantly improve the accuracy of electron density measurements. Possible improvements to the method are also discussed.

Core transport modelling of the DTT full power scenario using different fuelling strategies

A theory-based integrated modelling work of plasma response to deuterium fuelling in the new Divertor Tokamak Test facility (DTT) is performed, using the 1.5D transport code JETTO with the quasi-linear anomalous transport model QuaLiKiz for the core region. The full power DTT scenario E1 is investigated. It is characterised by 28.8 MW of Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating, 10 MW of Neutral Beam Injection and 6 MW of Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating to the plasma. Plasma density and temperature profile evolution is calculated up to the separatrix using two different fuelling methods, gas puffing and pellet injection, and two different seeding gases, argon and neon. To sustain the desired pedestal density level with gas puffing a big amount of neutral flux at the separatrix is needed. The feasibility limits of the pumping system are exceeded, regardless of the type of impurity introduced, thus making the use of pellets mandatory. The simulations performed with pellet injection as fuelling method predict that the pedestal density is well sustained with realistic parameters foreseen for the DTT pellet injector. Strong dependence of the core density on the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) power deposition profile is found. Trapped Electron Modes dominance, low outward flux and strongly hollow density in the inner core region are foreseen with central peaked ECR power deposition profile. Ion Temperature Gradient modes dominance, inward flux and robust density sustainment on the whole radial interval are predicted for spread ECR power deposition, though with central density close to the ECR cut-off limit and with peaked impurity densities. An intermediate deposition extension is found to sustain the whole density profile and to obtain flatter core densities, as previously predicted for the reference full power DTT scenario by fixed pedestal simulations. The ECR deposition is negligibly modified by refraction changes both during a single pellet cycle and after several pellet cycles, indicating full compatibility between the ECR system and the pellet injection system.

The influence of electron cyclotron resonance heating on ion-driven fishbone instability

The effect of electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) on fishbone instability is studied based on the generalized energy principle. Off-axis ECRH plays a stabilizing role in fishbone instability, while on-axis ECRH does not distinctly change the growth rate. The frequency of fishbone instability increases (decreases) for off-axis (on-axis) ECRH. The effect of ECRH is greatest when power is deposited near the rational surface. More concentrated power deposition has a better stabilizing effect. Furthermore, the non-resonance effect of trapped energetic electrons is the main factor behind the stabilization effect in the off-axis case, while it has a weak effect in the on-axis case. The frequency of fishbone instability is changed mainly by the Shafranov shift effect on trapped energetic ions since it can change the precessional drift frequency. The Shafranov shift effect can also affect the growth rate because the onset threshold of energetic ion beta is related to the frequency. The effects of magnetic Reynolds number and slowing-down critical energy are weak and can be neglected. This provides the possibility of using off-axis ECRH targeted to the rational surface to control fishbone instability.

Observation of impurity accumulation and its compatibility with high plasma performance in W7-X

At the W7-X stellarator, the bolometer system has measured an intensive radiation zone in the inner plasma region (at a normalized radius ρ ∼ 0.3–0.4) in the hydrogen plasma generated by electron cyclotron resonance heating; it differs from the normal plasma radiation distribution with an edge-localized emission zone. Spectroscopic diagnostics have recorded high-Z elements such as iron. This phenomenon happens in the plasma phases after gas supply turn-off, which results in all impurity relevant diagnostic signals increasing for several seconds. Despite the enhancement of the core radiation, the plasma energy confinement is improved. A transport analysis shows that this impurity radiation behavior is associated with a low diffusion coefficient (D∼ 0.02 m2 s−1) and a reversal of the convection around the radial position of the emission peak, which, under normal conditions, separates the zones of outward convection in the central (|V| ∼ 0.1 m s−1) and inward convection in the outer region (|V| ∼ 0.3 m s−1). An impurity accumulation around this radial position has been identified. The transport coefficients obtained are comparable with the theoretical predictions of collisional impurity transport. In the plasma phases studied, both impurity and energy confinement are enhanced. The mechanism responsible for the improvement is believed to be a reduction of micro-instabilities associated with the observed steepening of the density profile, initiated by a low edge plasma density (<1.0 × 1019 m−3) after switching off the gas fueling. The normalized temperature and density gradients fulfil the condition for the suppression of ITG turbulence.

Numerical simulation of ultrashort-pulse reflectometry (USPR) on EAST

The microwave reflectometer is a popular non-intrusive plasma density diagnostic instrument on tokamaks that provides centimeter and millisecond level resolution. The ultrashort-pulse reflectometer (USPR) achieves plasma density measurement by emitting a chirped wave containing a broadband signal and measuring the time of flight from different frequency components. A USPR system is currently being built on EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) to meet the needs of diagnostic of the pedestal density evolution, such as high-frequency small edge-localized modes. In order to predict the density reconstruction of the EAST USPR system, this work presents a numerical simulation study of the beam propagation of the chirped wave of extraordinary waves (X-mode) in the plasma based on Python. The electron density profile has been successfully reconstructed by the reflection signal interpretation. The small gap between the right-hand cut-off layer and the electron cyclotron resonance layer, due to the low plasma density on the plasma edge, causes unexpected leakage from the transmitting microwave beam to the pedestal and the core region. This kind of ‘tunneling’ effect will cause the reflected signal to have energy loss in the low-frequency band. The study also discusses the influence of the poloidal magnetic field on the reflected signal. The spatial variation of the poloidal magnetic field will lead to the conversion between extraordinary (X) waves and ordinary (O) waves, which leads to energy loss in the reflected signals. The simulation results show that the ‘tunneling’ effect and the O-X mode conversion effect have little effect on the EAST USPR system. Therefore, the currently designed transmit power meets the working requirements.

Critical behavior near the instability threshold of an electron cyclotron maser formed in a mirror magnetic trap.

High-power electron cyclotron resonance discharge in a laboratory open trap is frequently accompanied by growth of electron cyclotron instabilities. We study a simple universal model that explains some of the stability conditions of such plasma observed experimentally, in particular, its crucial dependence on localization of the rf power deposition zone with respect to a minimum of B. An instability threshold seems to be sensitive to particular details of electron losses in a velocity space. Comparing theoretical predictions for the threshold condition with available measurements sheds light on a structure of fast-electron losses in ongoing experiments.

ICRF plasma production at hydrogen minority regime in LHD

This study aim is to develop further an ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) method of plasma production in stellarators based on the minority heating. The previous studies demonstrate production of low density plasma (9.5 × 1017m−3) at low power of up to 0.2 MW. The higher ICRF heating power experiments become possible after introducing a programmable ICRF power ramp up at the front of the ICRF pulse. With this trick, all the shots went with the antenna voltage within the safe range. Increase of the ICRF power predictably results in increase of the density of produced plasma. Without pre-ionization the plasma density achieved was 6 × 1018 m−3 which is 6 times higher than in previous experiments. However, the electron temperature was not high, the light impurities were hot fully stripped, and there were no recombination peaks after termination of the ICRF pulse. Plasma density is too low to provide good conditions for efficient plasma heating. For the reference, the ICRF heating of high density cold plasma prepared by electron cyclotron resonance heating is performed. Both electrons and ions were heated to high temperatures, and this plasma state is sustained. The antenna–plasma coupling was much better which result in larger heating power with the lower antenna voltage.

Mechanical and optical properties of amorphous silicon nitride-based films prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Silicon nitride (SiNx) based films have been recognized as essential dielectric films in the microelectronics and optoelectronics industry due to their desirable properties, such as high electrical insulation, excellent thermal stability, and compatibility with integrated circuit fabrication processes. They are also a potential candidate for fabricating wavelength-selective reflective coatings and surface passivation layers in building-integrated photovoltaics technologies. SiNx-based films are one of the popular choices for antireflective coatings in photovoltaics as well. Recently, SiNx and oxynitride (SiOyNx) based thin film optical filters have been explored to provide distinct color rendering to solar-charged electrical vehicles. Since solar cells have a lifespan of many years and the coating surfaces are substantial, it is essential to produce films with controlled optical and mechanical properties and maintain mechanical integrity against corrosion and wear. This study aims to design a deposition process and optimize minimal parameters for stable plasma conditions during multilayer deposition of SiNx and SiOyNx films using an electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor with SiH4/N2/O2/Ar precursor mixtures at 120 °C. The primary goal was to investigate the influence of gas flow adjustments on the optical and mechanical properties, specifically targeting the refractive index and mechanical properties of the films. We measured the refractive index and the absorption of the films using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. Then, we evaluated the mechanical residual stress ex situ using the wafer curvature measurement method. We have determined the elastic modulus and the hardness of the films using nanoindentation. The experimental results have shown a significant dependence of the optical and mechanical properties on the deposition parameters. To investigate the factors contributing to the intrinsic mechanical stress and to better understand SiNx film degradation mechanisms, we have studied the effect of postdeposition thermal cycling on the properties of the films. Several thermal-cycling experiments from room temperature to 400 °C were performed on different SiNx films, and the results showed an irreversible variation of the mechanical stress toward the tensile stresses caused by delamination of the films, while the refractive index remained unchanged.

Thermo-mechanical and quasi-optical analysis of the ECRH equatorial launcher steerable mirror towards the CFETR

This study reports a prototype design of the front steerable mirror (SM) in the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) system, which is used to validate the manufacturing technology of the large-scale quasi-optical mirror in the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). As a plasma-oriented component, the SM will experience more neutron heat and plasma radiation heat than the remote focusing mirrors, and the simulation results indicate that the peak temperature of the SM would then reach 292.5 °C, the maximum deformation and the maximum equivalent stress would be 1.16 mm and 446 MPa, respectively. The beam exhibits little distortion because the thermal deformation gradient around the wave center is small, and the quasi-optical analysis shows that the position of the wave heating plasma should be shifted by -6 mm along the local Z-axis, while the amplitude of the central electrical field would increase by 0.3%, from 294.7 kV/m to 295.5 kV/m.

Absorption of Microwaves During Plasma Heating at the Second Harmonic of Electron Cyclotron Resonance in Tokamaks and Stellarators: Linear Theory and Experiment

We study the microwave absorption during electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) by the extraordinary wave at second harmonic (X2 mode) in the T-10 tokamak and TJ-II stellarator in a wide range of plasma densities, and compare experiments with the classical formulas for the absorption of the injected ECR power. Empirical relations for the absorption efficiency and for the critical plasma density {{n}_{{{text{cr}}}}}, which separates the regions with full and partial absorption of the injected ECR power, are obtained using the numerical simulation of the heat transport with the transport model of canonical profiles. It is shown that in both devices, the range of densities exists, where the absorption predicted by the classical formulas is almost full, while according with the empirical formula, only a small fraction of the power is absorbed. The obtained relations allow ones to optimize the conditions of ECRH in toroidal systems for magnetic plasma confinement.