Probing local electron temperature and density inside a sheared flow stabilized Z-pinch using portable optical Thomson scattering.
Rev Sci Instrum
; 94(2): 023508, 2023 Feb 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36859043
ABSTRACT
We report the first optical Thomson scattering measurements inside a high electron temperature (â³1 keV) and moderate electron density (mid 1016 cm-3) plasma. This diagnostic has been built to provide critical plasma parameters, such as electron temperature and density, for Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy-supported fusion-energy concepts. It uses an 8 J laser at 532 nm in 1.5 ns to measure the high frequency feature of the Thomson scattering profile at 17 locations along the probe axis. It is able to measure electron density from 5 × 1017 cm-3 to several 1019 cm-3 and electron temperatures from tens of eV to several keV. Here, we describe the design, deployment, and analysis on the sheared flow stabilized Z-pinch machine at Zap Energy named FuZE. The probe beam is aimed at an axial distance of 20 cm from the central electrode and is timed within the temporal envelope of neutron emission. The high temperature and moderate density plasmas generated on FuZE lie in an unconventional regime for Thomson scattering as they are between tokamaks and laser-produced plasmas. We described the analysis considerations in this regime, show that the electron density was below 5 × 1016 cm-3 at all times during these measurements, and present a sample shot where the inferred electron temperature varied from 167 ± 16 eV to 700 ± 85 eV over 1.6 cm.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Rev Sci Instrum
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article