High-resolution x-ray monochromatic imaging for laser plasma diagnostics based on toroidal crystal

Monochromatic x-ray imaging is an essential method for plasma diagnostics related to density information.Large-field high-resolution monochromatic imaging of a He-like iron(Fe XXV)Kαcharacteristic line(6.701 keV)for laser plasma diagnostics was achieved using a developed toroidal crystal x-ray imager.A high-index crystal orientation Ge(531)wafer with a Bragg angle of 75.37°and the toroidal substrate were selected to obtain sufficient diffraction efficiency and compensate for astigmatism under oblique incidence.A precise offline assembly method of the toroidal crystal imager based on energy substitution was proposed,and a spatial resolution of 3-7μm was obtained by toroidal crystal imaging of a 600 line-pairs/inch Au grid within an object field of view larger than 1.0 mm.The toroidal crystal x-ray imager has been successfully tested via side-on backlight imaging experiments of the sinusoidal modulation target and a 1000 line-pairs/inch Au grid with a linewidth of 5μm using an online alignment method based on dual positioning balls to indicate the target and backlighter.This paper describes the optical design,adjustment method,and experimental results of a toroidal crystal system in a laboratory and laser facility.

Enthalpy Probe Technique for Thermal Plasma Diagnostics

The measuring principle and experimental results of the enthalpy probe technique for thermal plasma diagnostics are presented. Its calibration and errors are discussed. Typical results are presented for the system operation in an Ar/H2(5 % H2) plasma arc jet under a reactor chamber pressure of 101.3 kPa. The plasma temperature and velocity profiles are measured. The center temperature and velocity are 6600 K and 850 m/s for plasma power 9 kW at axial location of 17 mm.

Development and Integration of a Data Acquisition System for SST-1 Phase-1 Plasma Diagnostics

Long pulse （of the order of 1000 s or more） SST-1 tokamak experiments demand a data acquisition system that is capable of acquiring data from various diagnostics channels without losing useful data （and hence physics information） while avoiding unnecessary generation of a large volume data. SST-1 Phase-1 tokamak operation has been envisaged with data acquisition of several essential diagnostics channels. These channels demand data acquisition at a sampling rate ranging from 1 kilo samples per second （KSPS） to 1 mega samples per second （MSPS）. Considering the technical characteristics and requirements of the diagnostics, a data acquisition system based on PXI and CAMAC has been developed for SST-1 plasma diagnostics. Both these data acquisition systems are scalable. Present data acquisition needs involving slow plasma diagnostics are catered by the PXI based data acquisition system. On the other hand, CAMAC data acquisition hardware meets all requirements of the SST-1 Phase-1 fast plasma diagnostics channels. A graphical user interface for both data acquisition systems （PXI and CAMAC） has been developed using LabVIEW application development software. The collected data on the local hard disk are directly streaming to the central server through a dedicated network for post-shot data analysis. This paper describes the development and integration of the data acquisition system for SST-1 Phase-1 plasma diagnostics. The integrated testing of the developed data acquisition system has been performed using SST-1 central control and diagnostics signal conditioning units. In the absence of plasma shots, the integrated testing of the data acquisition system for the initial diagnostics of SST-1 Phase-1 operation has been performed with simulated physical signals. The primary engineering objective of this integrated testing is to validate the performance of the developed data acquisition system under simulated conditions close to that of actual tokamak operation. The data acquisition is synchronized with a clock and trigger provided by the central timing system.

The plume diagnostics of 30 cm ion thruster with an advanced plasma diagnostics system

In order to achieve a better understanding of plume characteristics of LIPS-300 ion thruster,the beam current density,ion energy and electron number density of LIPS-300 ion thruster plume are studied with an Advanced Plasma Diagnostics System(APDS)which allows for simultaneous in situ measurements of various properties characterizing ion thruster,such as plasma density,plasma potential,plasma temperature and ion beam current densities,ion energy distribution and so on.The results show that the beam current density distribution has a double‘wing'shape.The high energy ions were found in small scan angle,while low energy ions were found in greater scan angle.Electron number density has a similar shape with the beam current density distribution.

Online plasma diagnostics of a laser-produced plasma

In this study,we report a laser interferometry experiment for the online-diagnosing of a laserproduced plasma.The laser pulses generating the plasma are ultra-fast（30 femtoseconds）,ultraintense（tens of Terawatt） and are focused on a helium gas jet to generate relativistic electron beams via the laser wakefield acceleration（LWFA） mechanism.A probe laser beam（λ=800 nm） which is split-off the main beam is used to cross the plasma at the time of arrival of the main pulse,allowing online plasma density diagnostics.The interferometer setup is based on the No Marski method in which we used a Fresnel bi-prism where the probe beam interferes with itself after crossing the plasma medium.A high-dynamic range CCD camera is used to record the interference patterns.Based upon the Abel inversion technique,we obtained a 3D density distribution of the plasma density.

Diagnostics of laser-induced plasma on carbon-based polymer material using atomic and molecular emission spectra

Time-integrated optical emission analysis of laser-induced plasma on Teflon is presented.Plasma was induced under atmospheric pressure air using transversely excited atmospheric CO_(2) laser pulses.Teflon is a C-based polymer that is,among other things,interesting as a substrate for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analysis of liquid samples.This study aimed to determine the optimal experimental conditions for obtaining neutral and ionized C spectral lines and C2 and CN molecular band emission suitable for spectrochemical purposes.Evaluation of plasma parameters was done using several spectroscopic techniques.Stark profiles of appropriate C ionic lines were used to determine electron number density.The ratio of the integral intensity of ionic-to-atomic C spectral lines was used to determine the ionization temperature.A spectral emission of C2 Swan and CN violet bands system was used to determine the temperature of the colder,peripheral parts of plasma.We critically analyzed the use of molecular emission bands as a tool for plasma diagnostics and suggested methods for possible improvements.

High resolution X-ray spherically bent crystal spectrometer for laser-produced plasma diagnostics

A new high spectral resolution crystal spectrometer is designed to measure very low emissive X-ray spectra of laser-produced plasma in 0.5-0.9 nm range. A large open aperture （30 ×20 （mm）） mica （002） spherically bent crystal with curvature radius R = 380 mm is used as dispersive and focusing element. The imaging plate is employed to obtain high spectral resolution with effective area of 30 × 80 （mm）. The long designed path of the X-ray spectrometer beam is 980 mm from the source to the detector via the crystal. Experiment is carried out at a 20-J laser facility. X-ray spectra in an absolute intensity scale is obtained from Al laserproduced plasmas created by laser energy of 6.78 J. Samples of spectra obtained with spectral resolution of up to E/△E - 1500 are presented. The results clearly show that the device is good to diagnose laser high-density plasmas.

A four-channel multilayer KB microscope for high-resolution 8-keV X-ray imaging in laser-plasma diagnostics

A four-channel multilayer Kirkpatrick-Baez （KB） microscope is developed for the 8-keV X-ray imaging of experiments on laser inertial confinement fusion （ICF）. A periodic multilayer that works at 8 keV and with a grazing incidence angle of 1.0~ is coated on reflective surfaces to achieve a spatial resolution higher than 5μm and an effective solid angle higher than 10-7 sr. A precise assembly is realized by a conical reference cone to couple with an X-ray framing camera. This study provides detailed information on an optical and multilayer design, assembly method, and experimental results with a Cu X-ray tube. The instrument provides a high-resolution and high-throughput X-ray image for backlit or self-emission imaging of laser plasma at Cu Kα line radiation in Shenguang series laser facilities.

Time-resolved multispectral X-ray imaging with multi-channel Kirkpatrick-Baez microscope for plasma diagnostics at Shenguang-II laser facility

A time-resolved multispectral X-ray imaging approach with new version of multi-channel Kirkpatrick- Baez （KB） microscope is developed for laser plasma diagnostics at the kilo joule-class Shenguang-II laser facility （SG-II）. The microscope uses a total external reflection mirror in the sagittal direction and an array of multilayer mirrors in the tangential direction to obtain multiple individual high-resolution, high- throughput, and quasi-monochromatic X-ray images. The time evolution of the imploded target in multiple X-ray energy bands can be acquired when coupled with an X-ray streak camera. The experimental result of the time-resolved 2.5 and 3.0 keV dual-spectral self-emission imaging of the undoped CH shell target on SG-II is given.

Simulating Microwave Radiation of Pyramidal Horn Antenna for Plasma Diagnostics

Computational simulation of the radiating structure of a microwave from a pyramidal horn has been successfully accomplished.This simulation capability is de-veloped for plasma diagnostics based on a combination of three-dimensional Maxwell equations in the time domain and the generalized Ohm’s law.The transverse electrical electromagnetic wave of the TE1,0 mode propagating through a plasma medium and transmitting from antenna is simulated by solving these governing equations.Numerical results were obtained for a range of plasma transport properties including electrical con-ductivity,permittivity,and plasma frequency.As a guided microwave passing through plasma of finite thickness,the reflections at the media interfaces exhibit substantial distortion of the electromagnetic field within the thin sheet.In radiating simulation,the edge diffraction at the antenna aperture is consistently captured by numerical so-lutions and reveals significant perturbation to the emitting microwave.The numerical solution reaffirms the observation that the depth of the plasma is a critical parameter for diagnostics measurement.

Diagnostics of Argon Inductively Coupled Plasma and Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma by Optical Emission Spectroscopy

An experimental setup was built up to carry out radio frequency (RF) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), and to depict the optical emission spectra (OES) of the discharges. OES from argon ICP and DBD plasmas in visible and near ultraviolet region were measured. For argon ICP, the higher RF power input (higher than 500 W for our machine), the higher degree of argon plasma ionization. But that doesn't mean a higher mean electron energy. With the increase in the power input, the mean electron energy increases slightly, whereas the density of electron increases apparently On the contrary, argon DBD discharge behaves in the manner of a pulsed DC discharge on optical emission spectroscopy and V-I characteristics. DBD current is composed of a series of pulses equally spaced in temporal domain. The Kinetics of DBD emission strength is mainly governed by the frequency of the current pulse.

Optimized online filter stack spectrometer for ultrashort X-ray pulses

Currently,with the advent of high-repetition-rate laser-plasma experiments,the demand for online diagnosis for the X-ray spectrum is increasing because the laser-plasma-generated X-ray spectrum is very important for characterizing electron dynamics and applications.In this study,scintillators and silicon PIN(P-type–intrinsic-N-type semiconductor)diodes were used to construct a wideband online filter stack spectrometer.The X-ray sensor and filter arrangement was optimized using a genetic algorithm to minimize the condition number of the response matrix.Consequently,the unfolding error was significantly reduced based on numerical experiments.The detector responses were quantitatively calibrated by irradiating the scintillator and PIN diode with various nuclides and comparing the measuredγ-ray peaks.A prototype 15-channel spectrometer was developed by integrating an X-ray detector with front-and back-end electronics.The prototype spectrometer could record X-ray pulse signals at a repetition rate of 1 kHz.Furthermore,an optimized spectrometer was employed to record the real-time spectra of laser-driven bremsstrahlung sources.This optimized spectrometer offers a compact solution for spectrum diagnostics of ultrashort X-ray pulses,exhibiting improved accuracy in terms of spectrum measurements and repetition rates,and could be widely used in next-generation high-repetition-rate high-power laser facilities.

Polarimeter–interferometer diagnostic using terahertz solid-state sources for fluctuation measurements on Keda Torus e Xperiment(KTX)

A multi-channel polarimeter-interferometer has been developed on the Keda Torus eXperiment(KTX)for the study of equilibrium dynamics and internal magnetic fluctuations.A three-wave technique based on terahertz solid-state sources(-650 GHz)is applied for simultaneous measurements of electron density and Faraday rotation angle.The output power of the microwave source is 2 mW.Faraday rotation effect using a rotating wave plate is tested with phase noise less than 0.8°,and the density phase noise is less than 0.9°.Measurement of Faraday rotation angle and density for discharges on KTX have demonstrated high sensitivity to internal MHD activities.

First results of CO_(2) dispersion interferometer on EAST tokamak

A dispersion interferometer(DI)has been installed and operates on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak(EAST).This DI system utilizes a continuous-wave 9.3μm CO_(2)laser source to measure line-averaged electron densities accurately.In contrast to conventional interferometers,the DI does not require substantial vibration isolations or compensating systems to reduce the impact of vibrations in the optical path.It also employs a ratio of modulation amplitudes,ensuring it remains immune to the variations in detected intensities.Without a variation compensation system,the DI system on EAST reaches a density resolution of less than1.8×10^(-2)πrad and a temporal resolution of 20μs.The measurements made by the POlarimeterINTerferometer(POINT)system and the far-infrared hydrogen cyanide(HCN)interferometer are remarkably consistent with the DI’s results.The possibility of fringe jumps and the impact of refraction in high-density discharge can be significantly decreased using a shorter wavelength laser source.A rapid density change of 3×10^(19)m^(-3)during 0.15 s has been measured accurately in shot No.114755 of EAST.Additionally,the DI system demonstrates dependability and stability under 305 s long-pulse discharges in shot No.122054.

Diagnosis of Unmagnetized Plasma Electron Number Density and Electron-neutral Collision Frequency by Using Microwave

The plasma diagnostic method using the transmission attenuation of microwaves at double frequencies （PDMUTAMDF） indicates that the frequency and the electron-neutral collision frequency of the plasma can be deduced by utilizing the transmission attenuation of microwaves at two neighboring frequencies in a non-magnetized plasma. Then the electron density can be obtained from the plasma frequency. The PDMUTAMDF is a simple method to diagnose the plasma indirectly. In this paper, the interaction of electromagnetic waves and the plasma is analyzed. Then, based on the attenuation and the phase shift of a microwave in the plasma, the principle of the PDMUTAMDF is presented. With the diagnostic method, the spatially mean electron density and electron collision frequency of the plasma can be obtained. This method is suitable for the elementary diagnosis of the atmospheric-pressure plasma.

Investigation of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Discharge and Its Application to Surface Modification of Blood-Filtering Material

Melt-blown polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) nonwoven materials treated by usingplasma is regarded as one of the excellent materials to filter white blood cells (WBC) from blood.In this paper, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma source at an improved quasi-stable at-mospheric pressure is achieved when discharge voltage, discharge current, and gap between theelectrodes are carefully controlled. This plasma source has been used to modify the surface ofPBT melt-blown nonwoven materials. Experimental results indicate that both the wettablity andpermeation of treated PBT melt-blown nonwoven materials are greatly improved.

Diagnosis of the Argon Plasma in a PECVD Coating Machine

A Langmuir probe plasma diagnostic system was developed to measure the plasma parameters in a PECVD vacuum coating machine. The plasma was a capacitively coupled plasma （CCP） driven by a radio-frequency （RF） power supply. To avoid the disturbance of radio-frequency field on the Langmuir probe measurement, a passive compensation method was applied. This method allowed the ＇dc＇ component to be passed and measured in the probe circuit. It was found that the electron temperature in the range from 2.7 eV to 6.4 eV decreased with the increase in RF power. The measured plasma density ranged from 8×10^16 m^-3 to 0.85×10^15 m^-3 and increased with the increase in RF power.

Modification of exposure conditions by the magnetic field configuration in helicon antenna-excited helium plasma

Modification of exposure conditions downstream in the diffusion chamber has been performed in helicon antenna-excited helium plasma by adjusting the magnetic field(intensity and geometry).In the inductively coupled mode(H mode),a reduction in ion and heat fluxes is found with increasing magnetic field intensity,which is further explained by the more highly magnetized ions off-axis around the last magnetic field lines(LMFL).However,in helicon wave mode(W mode),the increase in magnetic field intensity can dramatically increase the ion and heat fluxes.Moreover,the effect of LMFL geometry on exposure conditions is investigated.In H mode with contracting LMFL,off-axis peaks of both plasma density and electron temperature profiles shift radially inwards,bringing about a beam with better radial uniformity and higher ion and heat fluxes.In W mode,although higher ion and heat fluxes can be achieved with suppressed plasma cross-field diffusion under converging LMFL,the poor radial uniformity and a small beam diameter will limit the size of samples suitable for plasma irradiation experiments.

Determination of Non-Maxwellian Electron Energy Distributions in Low-Pressure Plasmas by Using the Optical Emission Spectroscopy and a Collisional-Radiative Model

A Maxwellian electron energy distribution function （EEDF） is often assumed when using the optical emission line-ratio method to determine the electron temperature in low- temperature plasmas. However, in many cases, non-Maxwellian EEDFs can be formed due to the non-local electron heating or the inelastic-collisional energy loss processes. In this work, with a collisional-radiative model, we propose an approach to obtain the non-Maxwellian EEDF with a ＇two-temperature structure＇ from the emission line-ratios of Paschen 2p levels of argon and kryp- ton atoms. For applications of this approach in reactive gas （CF4, O2, etc） discharges that contain argon and krypton, recommendations of some specific emission line-ratios are provided, according to their sensitivities to the EEDF variation. The kinetic processes of the relevant excited atoms are also discussed in detail.

Optical design of a novel near-infrared phase contrast imaging(NI-PCI)diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak

The optical design of near-infrared phase contrast imaging(NI-PCI)diagnosis on HL-2A is introduced in this paper.This scheme benefits from the great progress of near-infrared laser technology and is a broadening of traditional phase contrast technology.This diagnostic can work as a keen tool to measure plasma wavenumber spectra by inferring string-integrated plasma density fluctuations.Design of both the front optical path which is the path before the laser transmitting into the tokamak plasma and the rear optics which is the path after the laser passing through the plasma is detailed.The 1550 nm laser is chosen as the probe beam and highprecision optical components are designed to fit the laser beam,in which a phase plate with a 194-nm-deep silver groove is the key.Compared with the conventional 10.6μm laser-based PCI system on HL-2A,NI-PCI significantly overcomes the unwanted phase scintillation effect and promotes the measurement capability of high-wavenumber turbulence with an increased maximal measurable wavenumber from 15 cm^(-1)to 32.6 cm^(-1).