Construction of the pellet source for the W II b stellarator and first phase of operation

In plasma experiments the use of a laser plasma source for filling the magnetic field configuration promises to provide an interesting solution. By bombarding a free-falling deuterium pellet with a high-energy laser beam it is possible to produce a plasma in short time. The problems involved are being investigated in the W II b stellarator. The aim here is to improve a cutting-type pellet source and instal it at the stellarator so as to ensure reliable pellet operation. This calls primarily for a reduction of the cooling capacity and possible temperature regulation with sufficiently exact temperature measurement. This is of importance in producing reproducible, short pellets (down to 4OO μm) with a certain repetition rate and with small dispersion in the plane of incidence. (orig.)