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Magnetic measurements during dc helicity injection tokamak startup indicate Alfvénic turbulence in the injected current streams mediates magnetic relaxation and results in macroscopic plasma current drive. Localization of such activity to the injected current streams, a bias voltage dependence to its onset, and higher-order spectral analysis indicate super-Alfvénic electrons excite instabilities that drive the observed turbulence. Measured fluctuation helicity is consistent with an α-dynamo electromotive force driving net current comparable to the macroscopic equilibrium current density. These results imply new constraints for scaling local helicity injection to larger devices.
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High resolution luminosity product measurements of neutral beam emission in magnetized plasmas are severely limited by the artificial Doppler broadening inherent to the use of large diameter collection optics. In this paper, a broadening compensation method is developed for the spatial heterodyne spectroscopy interferometric technique. The compensation technique greatly reduces the artificial broadening, thereby enabling high resolution measurements at a significantly higher photon flux than previously available. Compensated and uncompensated measurements of emission generated by impact excitation of 61 keV deuterium neutrals in a tokamak plasma at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility are presented. The spectral width of the compensated measurement is ${\sim}0.13 \;{\rm{nm}}$, which is comparable to the instrument resolution. This width is ${\sim}4 \times$ smaller than the uncompensated width, which for the 20 cm diameter collection lens system utilized in this study is ${\sim}0.5 \;{\rm{nm}}$.
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Access to and characterization of sustained, toroidally confined plasmas with a very high plasma-to-magnetic pressure ratio (ß_{t}), low internal inductance, high elongation, and nonsolenoidal current drive is a central goal of present tokamak plasma research. Stable access to this desirable parameter space is demonstrated in plasmas with ultralow aspect ratio and high elongation. Local helicity injection provides nonsolenoidal sustainment, low internal inductance, and ion heating. Equilibrium analyses indicate ß_{t} up to â¼100% with a minimum |B| well spanning up to â¼50% of the plasma volume.
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Tokamak experiments at near-unity aspect ratio Aâ²1.2 offer new insights into the self-organized H-mode plasma confinement regime. In contrast to conventional Aâ¼3 plasmas, the L-H power threshold P_{LH} is â¼15× higher than scaling predictions, and it is insensitive to magnetic topology, consistent with modeling. Edge localized mode (ELM) instabilities shift to lower toroidal mode numbers as A decreases. These ultralow-A operations enable heretofore inaccessible J_{edge}(R,t) measurements through an ELM that show a complex multimodal collapse and the ejection of a current-carrying filament.
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A novel spectroscopy diagnostic for measuring internal magnetic fields in high temperature magnetized plasmas has been developed. It involves spectrally resolving the Balmer-α (656 nm) neutral beam radiation split by the motional Stark effect with a spatial heterodyne spectrometer (SHS). The unique combination of high optical throughput (3.7 mm2sr) and spectral resolution (δλ â¼ 0.1 nm) allows these measurements to be made with time resolution âª1 ms. The high throughput is effectively utilized by incorporating a novel geometric Doppler broadening compensation technique in the spectrometer. The technique significantly reduces the spectral resolution penalty inherent to using large area, high-throughput optics while still collecting the large photon flux provided by such optics. In this work, fluxes of order 1010 s-1 support the measurement of deviations of <5 mT (ΔλStark â¼ 10-4 nm) in the local magnetic field with 50 µs time resolution. Example high time resolution measurements of the pedestal magnetic field throughout the ELM cycle of a DIII-D tokamak plasma are presented. Local magnetic field measurements give access to the dynamics of the edge current density, which is essential to understanding stability limits, edge localized mode generation and suppression, and predicting performance of H-mode tokamaks.
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Peeling modes, an instability mechanism underlying deleterious edge localized mode (ELM) activity in fusion-grade plasmas, are observed at the edge of limited plasmas in a low aspect ratio tokamak under conditions of high edge current density (J(edge) â¼ 0.1 MA/m2) and low magnetic field (B â¼ 0.1 T). They generate edge-localized, electromagnetic activity with low toroidal mode numbers n≤3 and amplitudes that scale strongly with measured J(edge)/B instability drive, consistent with theory. ELM-like field-aligned, current-carrying filaments form from an initial current-hole J(edge) perturbation that detach and propagate outward.
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An upgraded detector and several optimizations have significantly improved the Ultra-Fast Charge Exchange Recombination Spectroscopy (UF-CHERS) diagnostic sensitivity to ion temperature and parallel velocity fluctuations at turbulence relevant spatio-temporal scales. Normalized broadband ion temperature and parallel velocity fluctuations down to xÌxâ¼1% (x = Ti, vâ¥) and up to â¼450 kHz have been measured in a variety of plasmas. The multi-field nature of the CHERS technique also allows measurements of the cross-phase angles of the fluctuating fields. UF-CHERS is optimized to observe emissions from the electron exchange reaction between intrinsic C6+ and hydrogenic neutral beam injected particles near 529 nm. UF-CHERS consists of two chords separated by â¼1 cm radially, less than the turbulence correlation length in DIII-D plasmas, which enables correlated measurements to suppress incoherent electronic and photon noise. The optical components of the spectrometer include a volume-phase-holographic grating with >90% transmission between 528 and 530 nm and f/2 200-mm lenses, selected to maximize the optical efficiency and photon flux. Diffracted light from each chord is collected in eight spectral bins, each with a bandwidth of â¼0.25 nm, and detected and amplified by chilled avalanche photodiodes and custom high-gain, wide bandwidth low-noise preamplifiers to achieve the optimal signal-to-noise ratio. The resulting signals are digitized at 1 MHz, 103-104× faster than the conventional CHERS diagnostics. Spatial coverage is achieved by repositioning a motorized fiber tray between plasmas. UF-CHERS measurements will advance the understanding of turbulent ion transport and contribute to the validation of transport models and simulations.
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Measurement of electrostatic potential, or local electric field, turbulence is a critical missing component in validating nonlinear turbulence and transport simulations of fusion plasmas. A novel diagnostic is being developed for measuring local electric field fluctuations, E Ì ( r , t ) , via high-speed measurements of the light emitted from a hydrogenic neutral beam. It exploits the proportionality of the spectral line splitting from the Motional Stark Effect to the total electric field experienced by the neutral atom at the excitation site. The measurement is localized by the usual cross-beam geometry of beam-spectroscopy measurements. The corner stone of the diagnostic is a high spectral resolution, high etendue spatial heterodyne spectrometer (SHS). A SHS design with high etendue (â¼5 mm2 sr) and resolution (â¼0.14 nm) meets the formidable spectrometer requirements. Field tests of the spectrometer at the DIII-D tokamak demonstrate that the beam emission spectrum produced by the SHS agrees with that of a traditional spectrometer and that the measured flux is adequate for turbulence studies.
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The 2D turbulent E × B flow-field is inferred from density fluctuation images obtained with the beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic on DIII-D using the orthogonal dynamic programming velocimetry algorithm. A synthetic turbulence model is used to test the algorithm and optimize it for measuring zonal flows. Zonal flow measurements are found to require a signal-to-noise ratio above â¼10 and a zonal flow wavelength longer than â¼2 cm. Comparison between the velocimetry-estimated flow-field and the E × B flow-field using a nonlinear gyrokinetic GENE simulation finds that the flow-fields have identical spatial structure and differ only by the mean turbulence phase velocity, which is spatially uniform in this flux tube simulation.
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Two new magnetic probes have been deployed on the Pegasus spherical tokamak to study the dynamics of local helicity injection non-solenoidal plasma start-up and current drive. The magnetic radial array probe consists of 15 pickup coils (â¼5 × 8 mm each) that measure B Ì z ( R ) over a 15 cm linear extent. The coils consist of traces embedded in a printed circuit board. Three coil designs are utilized to balance frequency response and coil sensitivity. Helmholtz coil measurements are used to measure coil and full assembly bandwidths (â¼2 MHz and â¼200 kHz, respectively) and sensitivities (0.18/0.35/0.96 mV T-1 s). The magnetic radial scanning probe is an array of Hall effect sensors that measure field strength ( | B | ≤ 177 mT) and direction at 8 spatial points (ΔR = 1.5 cm), supporting the studies of equilibrium field structure and low-frequency (≤5 kHz) current dynamics. It uses commercial surface-mount Hall effect sensors with chip-integrated amplifiers and compensators that are mounted in a 3-D printed frame. Helmholtz coil measurements indicate negligible cross-field gain nonlinearity and provide absolute calibration of the diagnostic. Both probes are constructed as an electrostatically shielded insertable air-side assembly that mounts within a radially translatable ultrahigh vacuum assembly from an existing probe.
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The Ultra-Fast Charge Exchange Recombination Spectroscopy (UF-CHERS) diagnostic is a highly specialized spectroscopic instrument with 2 spatial channels consisting of 8 spectral channels each and a resolution of â¼0.25 nm deployed at DIII-D to measure turbulent ion temperature fluctuations. Charge exchange emissions are obtained between 528 and 530 nm with 1 µs time resolution to study plasma instabilities. A primary challenge of extracting fluctuation measurements from raw UF-CHERS signals is photon and electronic noise. In order to reduce dark current, the Avalanche Photodiode (APD) detectors are thermo-electrically cooled. State-of-the-art components are used for the signal amplifiers and conditioners to minimize electronic noise. Due to the low incident photon power (≤1 nW), APDs with a gain of up to 300 are used to optimize the signal to noise ratio. Maximizing the APDs' gain while minimizing the excess noise factor (ENF) is essential since the total noise of the diagnostic sets a floor for the minimum level of detectable broadband fluctuations. The APDs' gain should be high enough that photon noise dominates electronic noise, but not excessive so that the ENF overwhelms plasma fluctuations. A new generation of cooled APDs and optimized preamplifiers exhibits significantly enhanced signal-to-noise compared to a previous generation. Experiments at DIII-D have allowed for characterization and optimization of the ENF vs. gain. A gain of â¼100 at 1700 V is found to be near optimal for most plasma conditions. Ion temperature and toroidal velocity fluctuations due to the edge harmonic oscillation in quiescent H-mode plasmas are presented to demonstrate UF-CHERS' capabilities.
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A new control system for the Pegasus Thomson scattering diagnostic has recently been deployed to automate the laser operation, data collection process, and interface with the system-wide Pegasus control code. Automation has been extended to areas outside of data collection, such as manipulation of beamline cameras and remotely controlled turning mirror actuators to enable intra-shot beam alignment. Additionally, the system has been upgraded with a set of fast (â¼1 ms) mechanical shutters to mitigate contamination from background light. Modification and automation of the Thomson system have improved both data quality and diagnostic reliability.
RESUMO
A novel, cost-effective, multi-point Thomson scattering system has been designed, implemented, and operated on the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment. Leveraging advances in Nd:YAG lasers, high-efficiency volume phase holographic transmission gratings, and increased quantum-efficiency Generation 3 image-intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) cameras, the system provides Thomson spectra at eight spatial locations for a single grating/camera pair. The on-board digitization of the ICCD camera enables easy modular expansion, evidenced by recent extension from 4 to 12 plasma/background spatial location pairs. Stray light is rejected using time-of-flight methods suited to gated ICCDs, and background light is blocked during detector readout by a fast shutter. This â¼103 reduction in background light enables further expansion to up to 24 spatial locations. The implementation now provides single-shot Te(R) for ne > 5 × 1018 m-3.
RESUMO
A novel two-channel, high throughput, high efficiency spectrometer system has been developed to measure impurity ion temperature and toroidal velocity fluctuations associated with long-wavelength turbulence and other plasma instabilities. The spectrometer observes the emission of the n = 8-7 hydrogenic transition of C(+5) ions (λ(air) = 529.06 nm) resulting from charge exchange reactions between deuterium heating beams and intrinsic carbon. Novel features include a large, prism-coupled high-dispersion, volume-phase-holographic transmission grating and high-quantum efficiency, high-gain, low-noise avalanche photodiode detectors that sample emission at 1 MHz. This new diagnostic offers an order-of-magnitude increase in sensitivity compared to earlier ion thermal turbulence measurements. Increased sensitivity is crucial for obtaining enough photon statistics from plasmas with much less impurity content. The irreducible noise floor set by photon statistics sets the ultimate sensitivity to plasma fluctuations. Based on the measured photon flux levels for the entire spectral line, photon noise levels for TÌ(i)/T(i) and V(i)/V(i) of ~1% are expected, while statistical averaging over long data records enables reduction in the detectable plasma fluctuation levels to values less than that. Broadband ion temperature fluctuations are observed to near 200 kHz in an L-mode discharge. Cross-correlation with the local beam emission spectroscopy measurements demonstrates a strong coupling of the density and temperature fields, and enables the cross-phase measurements between density and ion temperature fluctuations.
RESUMO
The beam emission spectroscopy system on the National Spherical Torus Experiment measures localized density fluctuations on the ion gyroscale. Optical sightlines provide core to edge radial coverage, and the sightlines are aligned to typical pitch angles to maximize cross-field spatial resolution. Sightline images are 2-3 cm, and point spread function calculations indicate image distortion from pitch angle misalignment and atomic state finite lifetimes is minor with a 15% increase in the image size. New generation photodetectors achieve photon noise limited measurements at frequencies up to 400 kHz with refrigerant cooling at -20 °C. Measurements near the pedestal show broadband turbulence up to 100 kHz, and poloidal correlation lengths are about 10 cm. Plasma turbulence signals can be 2-3 orders of magnitude above photon noise and amplifier thermal noise.
RESUMO
A passive ion temperature polychromator has been deployed on Pegasus to study power balance and non-thermal ion distributions that arise during point source helicity injection. Spectra are recorded from a 1 m F/8.6 Czerny-Turner polychromator whose output is recorded by an intensified high-speed camera. The use of high orders allows for a dispersion of 0.02 Å/mm in 4th order and a bandpass of 0.14 Å (~13 km/s) at 3131 Å in 4th order with 100 µm entrance slit. The instrument temperature of the spectrometer is 15 eV. Light from the output of an image intensifier in the spectrometer focal plane is coupled to a high-speed CMOS camera. The system can accommodate up to 20 spatial points recorded at 0.5 ms time resolution. During helicity injection, stochastic magnetic fields keep T(e) low (100 eV) and thus low ionization impurities penetrate to the core. Under these conditions, high core ion temperatures are measured (T(i) ≈ 1.2 keV, T(e) ≈ 0.1 keV) using spectral lines from carbon III, nitrogen III, and boron IV.
RESUMO
The availability of high-efficiency volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings and intensified CCD (ICCD) cameras have motivated a simplified, compact spectrometer for Thomson scattering detection. Measurements of T(e) < 100 eV are achieved by a 2971 l∕mm VPH grating and measurements T(e) > 100 eV by a 2072 l∕mm VPH grating. The spectrometer uses a fast-gated (~2 ns) ICCD camera for detection. A Gen III image intensifier provides ~45% quantum efficiency in the visible region. The total read noise of the image is reduced by on-chip binning of the CCD to match the 8 spatial channels and the 10 spectral bins on the camera. Three spectrometers provide a minimum of 12 spatial channels and 12 channels for background subtraction.
RESUMO
By exploiting advances in high-energy pulsed lasers, volume phase holographic diffraction gratings, and image intensified CCD cameras, a new Thomson scattering system has been designed to operate from 532 - 592 nm on the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment. The system uses a frequency-doubled, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating with an energy of 2 J at 532 nm and a pulse duration of 7 ns FWHM. The beam path is < 7m, the beam diameter remains ≤ 3 mm throughout the plasma, and the beam dump and optical baffling is located in vacuum but can be removed for maintenance by closing a gate valve. A custom lens system collects scattered photons from 15 cm < R(maj) < 85 cm at ~F∕6 with 14 mm radial resolution. Initial measurements will be made at 12 spatial locations with 12 simultaneous background measurements at corresponding locations. The estimated signal at the machine-side collection optics is ~3.5 × 10(4) photons for plasma densities of 10(19) m(-3). Typical plasmas measured will range from densities of mid-10(18) to mid-10(19) m(-3) with electron temperatures from 10 to 1000 eV.
RESUMO
Measurements of the internal distribution of B in magnetically confined plasmas are required to obtain current profiles via equilibrium reconstruction with sufficient accuracy to challenge stability theory. A 16-channel linear array of InSb Hall effect sensors with 7.5 mm spatial resolution has been constructed to directly measure internal B(z)(R,t) for determination of J(ψ,t) associated with edge-localized peeling mode instabilities in the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment. The diagnostic is mounted in an electrically isolated vacuum assembly which presents a slim, cylindrical profile (â¼1 cm outside diameter) to the plasma using graphite as a low-Z plasma facing component. Absolute calibration of the sensors is determined via in situ cross-calibration against existing magnetic pickup coils. Present channel sensitivities are of order of 0.25 mT. Internal measurements with bandwidth of ≤25 kHz have been obtained without measurable plasma perturbation. They resolve n=1 internal magnetohydrodynamics and indicate systematic variation in J(ψ) under different stability conditions.