Temperature measurements in ZT-40M

Electron temperatures derived from Thomson scattering and ultrasoft x-ray (USXR) measurements taken before and after machine modifications are compared for ZT-40M. Modifications were made to the magnetic field windings to reduce field errors and the joints in the aluminum shell were coated with joint compound to reduce resistance and make all joints electrically uniform. These modifications resulted in increased plasma lifetime in ZT-40M from less than 10 ms to over 20 ms. Thomson scattering measurements were made with a single-point Thomson scattering apparatus. The scattered spectrum is collected by a three-grating spectrometer. The soft x rays are collected by a two-foil differential transmission system whose foil ratios may be easily varied. Before modifications the Thomson scattering and soft x-ray temperatures agreed up until 3 to 4 ms into the discharge. After this time the Thomson scattering temperature decreased slowly while the soft x-ray ''temperature'' increased rapidly. field errors resulted in Thomson scattering and USXR ''temperature'' time histories remaining fairly flat out to 10 to 11 ms, but introduced a small discrepancy (about 50 eV) in the absolute value of the temperatures. This change may be due either to the change in foil thickness used or to changes in radial temperature profiles. Profile changes may have been caused by the addition of four poloidal limiters or improvements to the magnetic field topology. After modifications the temperatures from both Thomson scattering and USXR were lower and the plasma density was higher. This is probably a result of the lower plasma-wall interaction with the new configuration