Timothy Good

Inhomogeneous magnetic-field-aligned ion flow measured in a Q machine

Radial profiles of ion flow vd(r) are measured with laser-induced fluorescence for cases in which the flow direction is parallel (vd>0) and/or antiparallel (vd<0) to the equilibrium magnetic field. Experiments are conducted in the barium-ion plasma of a double-ended Q machine. In cases where the ionizers associated with the two ends are not biased relative to each other, two distinct, counterstreaming ion-beam populations are evident. The insertion of blocking electrodes introduces inhomogeneity into the density profiles of the ion populations without effecting the homogeneity of the radial profile of each population’s drift velocity. In cases where the two ionizers are biased relative to each other, a single ion population exists. Variation in the radial profile of the ion population’s parallel drift velocity vd is produced such that (dvd/dr) can be negative or positive with magnitudes 0–70% of the ion gyrofrequency ωci. These results are discussed in the context of beam-driven and velocity-shear-driven ...

Confocal Laser Induced Fluorescence with Comparable Spatial Localization to the Conventional Method

We present measurements of ion velocity distributions obtained by laser induced fluorescence (LIF) using a single viewport in an argon plasma. A patent pending design, which we refer to as the confocal fluorescence telescope, combines large objective lenses with a large central obscuration and a spatial filter to achieve high spatial localization along the laser injection direction. Models of the injection and collection optics of the two assemblies are used to provide a theoretical estimate of the spatial localization of the confocal arrangement, which is taken to be the full width at half maximum of the spatial optical response. The new design achieves approximately 1.4 mm localization at a focal length of 148.7 mm, improving on previously published designs by an order of magnitude and approaching the localization achieved by the conventional method. The confocal method, however, does so without requiring a pair of separated, perpendicular optical paths. The confocal technique therefore eases the two window access requirement of the conventional method, extending the application of LIF to experiments where conventional LIF measurements have been impossible or difficult, or where multiple viewports are scarce.

Spatial structure of ion beams in an expanding plasma

We report spatially resolved perpendicular and parallel, to the magnetic field, ion velocity distribution function (IVDF) measurements in an expanding argon helicon plasma. The parallel IVDFs, obtained through laser induced fluorescence (LIF), show an ion beam with v ≈ 8000 m/s flowing downstream and confined to the center of the discharge. The ion beam is measurable for tens of centimeters along the expansion axis before the LIF signal fades, likely a result of metastable quenching of the beam ions. The parallel ion beam velocity slows in agreement with expectations for the measured parallel electric field. The perpendicular IVDFs show an ion population with a radially outward flow that increases with distance from the plasma axis. Structures aligned to the expanding magnetic field appear in the DC electric field, the electron temperature, and the plasma density in the plasma plume. These measurements demonstrate that at least two-dimensional and perhaps fully three-dimensional models are needed to accur...

Periodic pulling in a driven relaxation oscillator

Periodic pulling, the incomplete entrainment of a driven, nonlinear oscillator, is observed experimentally in a relaxation oscillator for the first time. A neon-bulb relaxation oscillator is driven by a chopped, neon-resonant, laser beam. For driving frequencies just outside the range for entrainment, the signatures of periodic pulling are verified. The experimental results are qualitatively reproduced in numerical solutions of the driven van der Pol equation.

Ion beams in multi-species plasmas

Argon and xenon ion velocity distribution functions are measured in Ar-He, Ar-Xe, and Xe-He expanding helicon plasmas to determine if ion beam velocity is enhanced by the presence of lighter ions. Contrary to observations in mixed gas sheath experiments, we find that adding a lighter ion does not increase the ion beam speed. The predominant effect is a reduction of ion beam velocity consistent with increased drag arising from increased gas pressure under all conditions: constant total gas pressure, equal plasma densities of different ions, and very different plasma densities of different ions. These results suggest that the physics responsible for the acceleration of multiple ion species in simple sheaths is not responsible for the ion acceleration observed in expanding helicon plasmas.Argon and xenon ion velocity distribution functions are measured in Ar-He, Ar-Xe, and Xe-He expanding helicon plasmas to determine if ion beam velocity is enhanced by the presence of lighter ions. Contrary to observations in mixed gas sheath experiments, we find that adding a lighter ion does not increase the ion beam speed. The predominant effect is a reduction of ion beam velocity consistent with increased drag arising from increased gas pressure under all conditions: constant total gas pressure, equal plasma densities of different ions, and very different plasma densities of different ions. These results suggest that the physics responsible for the acceleration of multiple ion species in simple sheaths is not responsible for the ion acceleration observed in expanding helicon plasmas.