Negative Ion Source Development for Fusion Application (invited)

Giant negative ion sources, producing high-current of several tens amps with high energy of several hundreds keV to 1 MeV, are required for a neutral beam injector(NBI) in a fusion device. The giant negative ion sources are cesium-seeded plasma sources, in which the negative ions are produced onthe cesium-covered surface. Their characteristic features are discussed with the views of large-volume plasma production, large-area beam acceleration, and high-voltage dc holding. The international thermonuclear experimental reactor NBI employs a 1 MeV-40 A of deuterium negativeion source, and intensive development programs for the rf-driven source plasma production and the multistage electrostatic acceleration are in progress, including the long pulse operation for 3600 s. Present status of the development, as well as the achievements of the giant negative ion sources in the working injectors, is also summarized

大電流負重イオンビームの生成と負イオンビームデポジションに関する研究

京都大学0048新制・論文博士工学博士乙第6494号論工博第2109号新制||工||724(附属図書館)UT51-63-J328(主査)教授 高木 俊宜, 教授 山田 公, 教授 板谷 良平学位規則第5条第2項該当Kyoto UniversityDFA

Prospect Toward Steady-State Helical Fusion Reactor Based on Progress of LHD Project Entering the Deuterium Experiment Phase

Large Helical Device (LHD) is one of the world largest superconducting fusion experiment devices, having demonstrated its inherent advantage for steady-state operation since the start of experiments in 1998. LHD has also demonstrated reliable operation of the large-scale superconducting magnet system for almost two decades. Development of the challenging heating systems, such as negative-ion-based neutral beam injection (NBI), high-power and high-frequency electron cyclotron heating, and steady-state ion cyclotron heating, have led to wide-ranging physics and engineering achievements. LHD has progressed to the next stage, that is, the deuterium experiment starting in March 2017, which should further extend plasma parameters toward reactor-relevant regime. For establishing firm basis for designing steady-state helical fusion reactor, advanced physics research, such as on isotope effect, energetic particle confinement, and plasma-wall interaction, will be intensively performed in the deuterium experiments. In an engineering aspect, the upgrade of NBI system has been carried out in preparation to the deuterium experiment, and it should contribute to future NBI development for fusion reactors including ITER. For enhancement of the particle control, the closed divertor system has been installed with pumping capability. Diagnostics for neutron measurements are newly developed and installed for the deuterium experiment. Aligned with all the progress of LHD project in terms of engineering and physics aspects, the conceptual design activity of the LHD-type helical fusion reactor, FFHR-d1, has been programmatically conducted. In parallel to the design study, engineering research and development for the component development have been performed, including those based on employing challenging ideas such as high-temperature superconductor, liquid metal ergodic divertor, and molten-salt breeder blanket. The present status of LHD project entering the deuterium experiment phase is overviewed with putting emphasis on the engineering aspects, and then the engineering research and development activities toward steady-state helical fusion reactor are described

Optical Measurement of Cesium Behavior in a Large H− Ion Source for a Neutral Beam Injector

Optical emission in a negative hydrogen ion source for the Large Helical Device Neutral Beam Injector (LHD-NBI) has been measured to investigate the behavior of Cs. Two optical sight lines exist parallel to the plasma grid, in the discharge area and in the magnetic filter area near the plasma grid. In the discharge area, the spectrum intensity from Cs+ ions is considerably increased during 20 s of the beam extraction. This indicates a considerable increase in the Cs+ density inside the plasma due to the impact of back-streaming H+ ions. A strong neutral Cs spectrum is observed in the magnetic filter area, where the electron density is lower than in the discharge area. The rate of increase of neutral Cs is much enhanced after t = 30 s, probably because the Cs adsorbed on the cooled region inside the arc chamber evaporates because its temperature increases during the long pulse discharge

Recent Fusion Research in the National Institute for Fusion Science

The National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), which was established in 1989, promotes academic approaches toward the exploration of fusion science for steady-state helical reactor and realizes the establishment of a comprehensive understanding of toroidal plasmas as an inter-university research organization and a key center of worldwide fusion research. The Large Helical Device (LHD) Project, the Numerical Simulation Science Project, and the Fusion Engineering Project are organized for early realization of net current free fusion reactor, and their recent activities are described in this paper. The LHD has been producing high-performance plasmas comparable to those of large tokamaks, and several new findings with regard to plasma physics have been obtained. The numerical simulation science project contributes understanding and systemization of the physical mechanisms of plasma confinement in fusion plasmas and explores complexity science of a plasma for realization of the numerical test reactor. In the fusion engineering project, the design of the helical fusion reactor has progressed based on the development of superconducting coils, the blanket, fusion materials and tritium handling

Simultaneous Measurements of Proton Ratio and Beam Divergence of Positive-ion-based Neutral Beam in the Large Helical Device

A spectroscopy system was installed on the diagnostic neutral beam injector in LHD. The Hα lines spectrum emitted by full, half and one-third energy component are clearly observed, and the proton ratio and the beam divergence were estimated by the line intensity and the line width, respectively. The proton ratio of 85?90 % is achieved in high arc power discharge. The beam divergence of them shows their minimum with the same perveance. It was experimentally confirmed that the spectroscopy system is useful for the monitor of the proton ratio and the divergence of the beam

Upgraded millimeter-wave interferometer for measuring the electron density during the beam extraction in the negative ion source

The upgraded millimeter-wave interferometer with the frequency of 70 GHz is installed on a large-scaled negative ion source. Measurable line-averaged electron density is from 2×1015to 3×1018m−3in front of the plasma grid. Several improvements such as the change to shorter wavelength probing with low noise, the installation of special ordered horn antenna, the signal modulation for a high accuracy digital phase detection, the insertion of insulator, and so on, are carried out for the measurement during the beam extraction by applying high voltage. The line-averaged electron density is successfully measured and it is found that it increases linearly with the arc power and drops suddenly at the beam extraction

Difference of co-extracted electron current and beam acceleration in a negative ion source with hydrogen-isotope ions

Improvement of the performance on a hydrogen/deuterium negative ion source for a nuclear fusion device is reported. In particular, the suppression of the co-extracted electron current, Ie, is an important issue to ensure the stable beam acceleration. Improvement of the Ie has been confirmed by optimizing the magnetic field of the electron deflection magnet in the extraction grid. Two other new methods for reduction of the Ie were validated. The first was an electron fence whose rods were set between the rows of apertures on a plasma grid. The electron and negative ion current ratio, approximately Ie/Iacc, was greatly improved from 0.7 to 0.25 in deuterium. The second was an outer iron yoke which enhanced the magnetic flux density 19% inside the arc discharge chamber. The Ie/Iacc using the outer yoke decreased by 0.1 compared with using a normal magnetic filter in a deuterium operation. These attempts have improved the total deuterium injection beam power of 8.4 MW by three negative ion based NBIs

Visualization of H? Dynamics in Extraction Region of Negative-Ion Source by Hα Imaging Spectroscopy

We developed a new imaging spectroscopy diagnostic tool for Hα emission and installed it on a negative hydrogen ion (H?) source to investigate the H? dynamics in the extraction region. During beam extraction, the Hα emission dropped; the same drop also appeared in the H? density (as measured by cavity ring-down spectroscopy). The reduction in the Hα emission results from the reduction in the excited hydrogen population caused by mutual neutralization processes between H+ and H? ions, which in turn are due to a decrease in the H? density. We find a reduction structure in Hα that is observed inside the plasma farther than 20 mm from the plasma grid (PG) surface. The result indicates that H? ions produced at the PG surface accumulate in the extraction region, so we conclude that they flow toward the PG apertures