Ion beam probe diagnostic system. Technical progress report, 1 January 1979-30 June 1980. RPDL report No. 80-17

Tokomak plasmas suitable for diagnostic development were produced during this period in RENTOR following technological improvements in the vacuum chamber and discharge cleaning systems. Secondary ion signals were obtained from the heavy ion beam probe on RENTOR leading to initial estimates of the plasma space potential, which appears to vary by several hundred volts during the plasma pulse. The principle of measuring space potential in a minimum-B geometry was established using an ion gun mounted at the center of the ALEX baseball coil. The neutral beam probe was installed for measuring the space potential using actual secondary ion signals from a hollow cathode arc in ALEX and preliminary tests have begun. The ion beam test stand was significantly altered to allow more flexibility in testing energy analyzers, ion guns, and ion focusing concepts