Intense proton beam source for ITER neutral-beam spectroscopy diagnostics

An intense proton beam has been developed to evaluate a gas-cell neutralizer for use in an intense-neutral beam source for Tokomak Spectroscopy diagnostics. The allowed energy range of the proton stream is determined to be 50 to 70 keV from neutralization and reionization cross-sections and from the alpha particle charge exchange recombination intensity as a function of energy (baseline diagnostic). The neutralization evaluation source uses a flashover anode, magnetized, ion-diode. Neutral probes sensitive to energetic atomic and molecular hydrogen, developed to evaluate neutralizer performance, show neutral fluence from the ion-diode during the beam pulse. An array of Rogowski current probes, used to study the evolution of the current path, suggests that expansion of the anode plasma along the radial insulating magnetic field leads to impedance collapse