Extraction From A Large Ion Source Experiment Research Articles

High voltage power supply for steady state operation of the neutral beam test facility ELISE

The Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) system of ITER shall provide 33 MW heating power to the plasma for up to one hour by two injectors. The beam lines will be based on large RF-driven sources for negative hydrogen or deuterium ions. The test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) at IPP Garching is supporting the ion source development for ITER with an ion source of 1 × 1 m2 (half the size of the ITER source). While plasma operation of ELISE is possible for up to one hour, the extraction and acceleration of a negative ion beam (up to 60 kV) was initially possible only for ≈10 s every ≈150 s with the old power supply. During such pulses the temporal behavior of the co-extracted electrons significantly depends on whether beam extraction is switched on or off. Thus, continuous wave (CW) extraction is mandatory for developing fully ITER relevant operational scenarios and recently, a steady state power supply for beam extraction has been installed at ELISE. This power supply consists of two stages connected in series: a first stage with 12 kV / 70 A, providing 35 A for the extracted negative ion current, with a 35 A overhead for co-extracted electrons. The second stage of 50 kV / 35 A is used for the further acceleration of only the ions to a total potential of 60 kV. The two stages have an electrical active power of 1.75 MW and 0.84 MW respectively. The power supply operates with pulse step modulation. Bipolar transistors with insulated gate electrodes (IGBT) are used as electrical switches on the DC side. The 50 kV stage consists of 64 modules in series and the 12 kV stage has 24 modules. Both stages are controlled synchronously and must detect breakdowns between the grids in a µs range.

NNBI for ITER: status of long pulses in deuterium at the test facilities BATMAN Upgrade and ELISE

For the D-T operational phase of the international fusion experiment ITER, starting in 2035, pulses are planned with Q > 10 and a duration of 400 s and pulses with Q = 5 for up to 3600 s. The two neutral beam injection (NBI) systems will deliver 33.3 MW of heating power to the plasma and will also be an important source for non-inductive current drive. An essential part of the NBI systems is a large RF driven source for negative hydrogen or deuterium ions. In order to fulfil the requirements imposed to the NBI system, the ion source has to deliver an intense, stable and homogeneous large negative ion beam over pulse lengths of 400 s or 3600 s. Till now, long pulses in deuterium at the extracted negative ion current density required for ITER could not be demonstrated. The achievable performance is limited by a high current and a pronounced vertical asymmetry of the co-extracted electrons, both strongly increasing with time, whereas the stability of the negative deuterium ions is not an issue. For reduced performance, i.e. reduced negative ion current, lower and more stable co-extracted electron currents are observed, making possible pulses up to 3600 s (using pulsed extraction). One main aim of ongoing investigations at the two test facilities BATMAN Upgrade (Bavarian test machine for negative ions) and ELISE (extraction from a large ion source experiment) is the development of scenarios stabilizing and symmetrizing the co-extracted electron current in deuterium. These investigations are discussed and the current status of hardware upgrades ongoing at BATMAN Upgrade and ELISE towards the ITER scenario of one-hour steady state extraction is presented.

Operation of Large RF Driven Negative Ion Sources for Fusion at Pressures below 0.3 Pa

The large (size: 1 m × 2 m) radio frequency (RF) driven negative ion sources for the neutral beam heating (NBI) systems of the future fusion experiment ITER will be operated at a low filling pressure of 0.3 Pa, in hydrogen or in deuterium. The plasma will be generated by inductively coupling an RF power of up to 800 kW into the source volume. Under consideration for future neutral beam heating systems, like the one for the demonstration reactor DEMO, is an even lower filling pressure of 0.2 Pa. Together with the effect of neutral gas depletion, such low operational pressures can result in a neutral gas density below the limit required for sustaining the plasma. Systematic investigations on the low-pressure operational limit of the half-ITER-size negative ion source of the ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) test facility were performed, demonstrating that operation is possible below 0.2 Pa. A strong correlation of the lower pressure limit on the magnetic filter field topology is found. Depending on the field topology, operation close to the low-pressure limit is accompanied by strong plasma oscillations in the kHz range.

Formation of large negative deuterium ion beams at ELISE.

Negative ion sources for neutral beam injection (NBI) in fusion experiments are based on the surface production of H- or D- on cesiated low work function surfaces. In the recent years, it was demonstrated at the large RF driven ion source of the ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) test facility that the requirements for the ITER NBI systems can be fulfilled by hydrogen. This is a big step toward the first operational period of ITER, planned for up to 2035. However, for the following operational period, neutral beam systems working in deuterium are needed. Operation of negative hydrogen ion sources in deuterium is significantly more demanding than in hydrogen: the amount of coextracted electrons is much higher and their increase during pulses is much more pronounced, limiting the achievable performance. This paper presents the results of investigations aimed to improve the insight into the physics related to this isotope effect. Due to the higher atomic mass of deuterium, cesium is removed much more effectively from reservoirs at the walls, resulting in a depletion of these reservoirs and a strongly increased cesium density in the plasma. Additionally, a correlation between the fluxes of charged particles toward the inner ion source surfaces and the coextracted electrons is identified.

Achievement of ITER-relevant accelerated negative hydrogen ion current densities over 1000 s at the ELISE test facility

The neutral beam heating system for the future international fusion experiment ITER will be based on radiofrequency driven ion sources delivering a large (≈1 × 2 m) and homogeneous negative hydrogen or deuterium ion beam of severals tens of amperes for up to 1 h. Such beams have never been produced before and a dedicated R&D process has been ongoing for more than two decades. An important intermediate step is the size scaling test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) with its half-ITER size ion source. Recently, ELISE has fulfilled its first main aim, demonstrating hydrogen ITER-relevant accelerated negative ion current densities over 1000 s, at the required filling pressure of 0.3 Pa, with an electron–ion ratio below one and a beam homogeneity better than 90%. The measures identified as essential for achieving such pulses are the introduction of external permanent magnets and internal potential rods as well as a dedicated caesium conditioning technique.

Neutron measurements at the ELISE neutral beam test facility and implications for neutron based diagnostics at SPIDER.

Along the route to the development of a neutral beam injector for ITER, the Padua based Source for Production of Ion of Deuterium Extracted from Rf plasma (SPIDER) and megavolt ITER injector and concept advancement facilities will make use of neutron diagnostics to quantify the homogeneity of the neutral beam profile by measuring the map of the neutron emission from the beam dump with the close-contact neutron emission surface mapping (CNESM) system. Neutrons are here produced from beam-target reactions between the deuterium beam and the deuterons previously adsorbed in the calorimeter. In order to aid the interpretation of the diagnostic data, a dedicated experiment on neutron emission from beam-target reactions with beam parameters approaching those expected at SPIDER has been performed at the Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment (ELISE) neutral beam test facility. The time trace of neutron emission has been measured using a calibrated liquid scintillator detector at increasing power densities on the target. Compared to calculations based on the local mixing model, a systematic discrepancy was observed exceeding the statistical accuracy of the measurements and increasing as a linear function of the power density. The data are used to derive an empirical temperature dependent correction for applications to neutron measurements at SPIDER.

Determination of the Cs distribution along a line of sight by the Zeeman splitting in an inhomogeneous magnetic field

Large-scale sources for negative hydrogen ions are required for the neutral beam injection of the ITER fusion device. Caesium is used for the conversion of hydrogen atoms into negative ions. The combination of moderate background vacuum conditions (10−7–10−6 mbar), the high reactivity of Cs, continuous evaporation of Cs and plasma-enabled redistribution of Cs and Cs+ forms a complex dynamics. ELISE (extraction from a large ion source experiment) is a half ITER-source scale experiment. A tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) diagnostic at the resonant Cs 62S1/2–62P3/2 transition (852 nm) has been applied to the source in order to measure the density of neutral Cs close to the conversion surface and thus gaining a better insight into the Cs dynamics. An inhomogeneous magnetic field created by permanent magnets (≈25–320 G) is located along the line-of-sight (LOS) of the TDLAS, leading to a varying effect of the Zeeman splitting of the concerning Cs states and thus the absorption line profile along the LOS. In long plasma pulses at ELISE, a change of the Cs absorption line profile takes place, which can be attributed to a variation of the Cs density profile along the LOS. In order to attribute a measured line profile to a certain magnetic field strength and thus a certain position along the LOS, absorption spectra with a defined B-field at a Cs vapor cell using the same diagnostic system have been measured. The strong broadening of the measured line profile at ELISE after several 10 s of plasma indicates that neutral Cs is mainly located in the area of high magnetic field strength, i.e. close to the side wall. A correlation between the measured Cs density and the source performance exists during the beginning of the pulse and is lost in this later phase.

Preparation of the ELISE test facility for long-pulse extraction of negative ion beams

The test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) at IPP Garching, Germany, aims to demonstrate ITER-relevant negative ion beam parameters which are required for the NBI system of ITER. ELISE is equipped with a Radio Frequency driven source and an ITER‐like extraction system with half the ITER size. An H− or D− beam can be extracted for 10s every 3min from the continuously operating plasma source. The duration of the beam pulses is currently limited by the power supplies available at IPP. Although up to now record-setting 1h plasmas have been produced in H− as well as in D−, long plasma pulse operation with multiple beam blips showed a key issue: the co-extracted electron current during the extraction phase is strongly dynamic and temporally instable, particularly in D−. These instabilities are likely caused by back-streaming positive ions and Cs dynamics in the source. In order to investigate the source physics in long beam pulses, an upgrade of ELISE using a steady state high voltage power supply is envisaged. This upgrade requires a new steady state diagnostic calorimeter for which a few concepts are being investigated, which make use of several thermocouples, IR thermography and water calorimetry to measure beam intensity, divergence, profile and homogeneity. In addition the suitability of a tungsten wire calorimeter to characterize the steady state beam is being examined. Shielding of delicate components in the beam line, e.g. a large DN 1250mm gate valve, by means of suitable protection scrapers, is being considered. A selection of these technical solutions is presented and discussed in the paper.

Beam characterization by means of emission spectroscopy in the ELISE test facility

The ELISE (extraction from a large ion source experiment) test facility at IPP Garching hosts a RF H−/D− ion source and an acceleration system. Its target is to demonstrate the performance foreseen for the ITER neutral beam injector (NBI) system in terms of extracted current density (H/D), fraction of co-extracted electrons and pulse duration. The size of the ELISE extraction area is half that foreseen for the ITER NBI. This paper presents a detailed study of the ELISE beam divergence and uniformity. In particular, it was possible to describe the beam as the sum of two components at very different divergence: about 2° versus 5° ÷ 7°. As test cases, the beam properties have been measured as function of two source parameters. The first one is the current flowing through the grid facing the plasma, the plasma grid (PG), in order to generate the magnetic filter field. The second one is the bias current flowing between the PG and the source walls. Both the filter field and the bias current influence the fraction of co-extracted electrons, but also the properties of the plasma just in front of the extraction system and the beam properties. The divergence and the uniformity of the beam have been measured by a beam emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic; the detailed analysis of the raw spectra collected by BES led to describing the beam with two components of different divergence. This concept has been supported by the information given by thermal imaging of the diagnostic calorimeter. Further support to the proposed beam model has been found in the behavior of the currents flowing in the acceleration system and beamline components; these currents are given by the most divergent (charged) particles of the beam.

Installation of spectrally selective imaging system in RF negative ion source.

A spectrally selective imaging system has been installed in the RF negative ion source in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor-relevant negative ion beam test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) to investigate distribution of hydrogen Balmer-α emission (Hα) close to the production surface of hydrogen negative ion. We selected a GigE vision camera coupled with an optical band-path filter, which can be controlled remotely using high speed network connection. A distribution of Hα emission near the bias plate has been clearly observed. The same time trend on Hα intensities measured by the imaging diagnostic and the optical emission spectroscopy is confirmed.

Toward a Large RF Ion Source for the ITER Neutral Beam Injector: Overview of the ELISE Test Facility and First Results

The ion source test facility extraction from a large ion source experiment (ELISE) has recently been built at Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) Garching (Germany) and has been operational since December 2012. ELISE is an important intermediate step in the R&D roadmap that the European domestic agency Fusion for Energy has defined for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) neutral beam injectors. This new test facility for a large radio frequency ion source builds up on the experience gained during many years of successful operation of smaller testbeds at IPP. The purpose of ELISE is to extract a negative ion beam, at ITER relevant parameters, using an ion source with the full width (1 m) and half the height of the ITER source. ELISE is designed to generate plasma for up to 1 h and extract a H- or D- beam at up to 60 kV. Available power supplies allow beam pulses of 10 s every 150-180 s. Although ELISE is designed to be as close as possible to the ITER source, technical solutions have been implemented that allow considerable experimental flexibility. Focus was put on easier diagnostic access and ease of maintenance. The results gained during the construction and operation of ELISE are delivering very important information to support the design and operation of the neutral beam test facility PRIMA to be built in Padua (Italy). This paper gives an overview of the project, presents experiences made during commissioning, and shows some basic results obtained so far.

First results of the ITER-relevant negative ion beam test facility ELISE (invited)

An important step in the European R&D roadmap towards the neutral beam heating systems of ITER is the new test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) for large-scale extraction from a half-size ITER RF source. The test facility was constructed in the last years at Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik Garching and is now operational. ELISE is gaining early experience of the performance and operation of large RF-driven negative hydrogen ion sources with plasma illumination of a source area of 1 × 0.9 m(2) and an extraction area of 0.1 m(2) using 640 apertures. First results in volume operation, i.e., without caesium seeding, are presented.

Optical emission spectroscopy at the large RF driven negative ion test facility ELISE: Instrumental setup and first results

One of the main topics to be investigated at the recently launched large (A(source) = 1.0 × 0.9 m(2)) ITER relevant RF driven negative ion test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) is the connection between the homogeneity of the plasma parameters close to the extraction system and the homogeneity of the extracted negative hydrogen ion beam. While several diagnostics techniques are available for measuring the beam homogeneity, the plasma parameters are determined by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) solely. First OES measurements close to the extraction system show that without magnetic filter field the vertical profile of the plasma emission is more or less symmetric, with maxima of the emission representing the projection of the plasma generation volumes, and a distinct minimum in between. The profile changes with the strength of the magnetic filter field but under all circumstances the plasma emission in ELISE is much more homogeneous compared to the smaller IPP prototype sources. Planned after this successful demonstration of the ELISE OES system is to combine OES with tomography in order to determine locally resolved values for the plasma parameters.

Magnetic filter field for ELISE––Concepts and design

Negative ion neutral beam injection heating systems as planned for ITER need efficient precautions in the plasma source to minimize the co-extraction of electrons and destruction of negative ions. One solution is to apply a magnetic filter field of several mT, which reduces the electron temperature and the amount of electrons in the extraction region in front of the plasma grid. For the small IPP prototype sources it has been found, that both, the absolute value of the magnetic flux density in the extraction region as well as its integral along the distance from plasma driver to plasma grid has an important influence on the performance of the source. In the ITER ion sources, a strong current of several kA driven through the plasma grid is used to create the transversal magnetic field. The test bed ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) at IPP Garching houses the first negative ion source with the full width of the ITER source, with a similar aperture arrangement of the extraction system and with a magnetic filter field formed by a plasma grid current. One issue of the research at this test facility will be to explore and optimize the magnetic filter field. The paper summarizes experiences and results of previous filter field test campaigns and presents the magnetic filter field design for ELISE.

Negative ion test facility ELISE—Status and first results

The new test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) has been designed and installed since November 2009 at IPP Garching to support the development of the radio frequency driven negative ion source for the Neutral Beam System on ITER. The test facility is now completely assembled; all auxiliary systems have been commissioned and are operational. First plasma and beam operation is starting in October 2012.The source is designed to deliver an ion beam of 20A of D− ions, operating at 0.3Pa source pressure at an electron to ion current ratio below 1. Beam extraction is limited to 60kV for 10s every 3minutes, while plasma operation of the source can be performed continuously for 1hour. The ion source and extraction system have the same width as the ITER source, but only half the height, i.e. 1×1 m2 source area with an extraction area of 0.1 m2. The aperture pattern of the extraction system and the multi driver source concept stay as close as possible to the ITER design. Easy access to the source for diagnostic tools or modifications allows to analyze and optimize the source performance. Among other possibilities many different magnetic filter field configurations inside the source can be realized to enhance the negative ion extraction and to reduce the co-extraction of electrons. Beam power and profiles are measured by calorimetry and thermography on an inertially cooled target as well as by beam emission spectroscopy. Cs evaporation into the source is done via two dispenser ovens.

The negative ion source test facility ELISE

The ITER neutral beam system is using inductively coupled radio frequency (RF) ion sources, that have demonstrated the required ITER parameters on (small) sources with extraction areas up to 200 cm 2. As a next step towards the full size ITER source IPP is presently constructing the test facility ELISE (“Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment”) operating with a “half-size” source which has approximately the width but only half the height of the ITER source. The modular driver concept is expected to allow a further extrapolation to the full size in one direction to be made. The main aim of this experiment is to demonstrate the production of a large uniform negative ion beam with ITER relevant parameters in stable conditions up to one hour. Plasma operation of the source is foreseen to be performed continuously for 1 h; extraction and acceleration of negative ions up to 60 kV is only possible in pulsed mode (10 s every 180 s) due to limitations of the existing IPP HV system. The design of the source and extraction system implements a high experimental flexibility and a good diagnostic access while still staying as close as possible to the ITER design. The main differences are the source operating in air and the use of a large gate valve between the source and the target chamber. ELISE is expected to start operation at the end of 2011 and is an important step for the development of the ITER NBI system; the experience gained early will support the design as well as the commissioning and operating phases of the PRIMA NBI test facilities and the ITER neutral beam system.

Optimization of the cooling circuit and thermo-mechanical analysis for the extraction grid of ELISE

The NNBI test facility ELISE (“Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment”), presently under construction at IPP, will have an extraction area with the same width and half the height of the ITER source, acceleration up to 60 kV, for 10 s, every 180 s, and plasma generation up to 1 h. Electrons are co-extracted from the ion source. Suppression magnets in the extraction grid deflect the electrons onto the extraction grid surface. For 30 mA/cm 2 extracted electron current density and 10 kV extraction voltage, localized power density is in the order of 39 MW/m 2 near the grid apertures and a total heat load of 150 kW is deposited onto each extraction grid segment. Heat removal is provided by a water circuit inside the grid. For ELISE, a new cooling circuit has been developed to provide a more reliable operation. The optimization of the cooling circuit and the thermo-mechanical analysis of the extraction grid of ELISE, considering maximum grid temperature, mechanical stresses and grid deformation, has been performed using the codes KOBRA3, TrajAn, the ANSYS finite element package and the fluid dynamics code CFX.

Design of the “half-size” ITER neutral beam source for the test facility ELISE

In 2007 the radio frequency driven negative hydrogen ion source developed at IPP in Garching was chosen by the ITER board as the new reference source for the ITER neutral beam system. In order to support the design and the commissioning and operating phases of the ITER test facilities ISTF and NBTF in Padua, IPP is presently constructing a new test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment). ELISE will be operated with the so-called “half-size ITER source” which is an intermediate step between the present small IPP RF sources (1/8 ITER size) and the full size ITER source. The source will have approximately the width but only half the height of the ITER source. The modular concept with 4 drivers will allow an easy extrapolation to the full ITER size with 8 drivers. Pulsed beam extraction and acceleration up to 60 kV (corresponding to pre-acceleration voltage of SINGAP) is foreseen. The aim of the design of the ELISE source and extraction system was to be as close as possible to the ITER design; it has however some modifications allowing a better diagnostic access as well as more flexibility for exploring open questions. Therefore one major difference compared to the source of ITER, NBTF or ISTF is the possible operation in air. Specific requirements for RF sources as found on IPP test facilities BATMAN and MANITU are implemented [A. Stäbler, et al., Development of a RF-driven ion source for the ITER NBI system, SOFT Conference 2008, Fusion Engineering and Design, 84 (2009) 265–268].