Characterization of plasmas in negative ion sources using a Cs-H Collisional Radiative model

Abstract

SPIDER, hosted at the Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) in Padova, Italy, is the full scale prototype for the ITER Heating Neutral Beam (HNB) source. Another smaller compact RF ion source, NIO1, hosted by Consorzio RFX, was built to study the production and acceleration of H- ions in continuous operation. Both machines operate with the evaporation of caesium in order to enhance the production of negative ions. A collisional radiative model for caesium-hydrogen plasmas was recently developed. When used in conjunction with measurements from Optical Emission Spectroscopy, Laser Absorption Spectroscopy and electrostatic probes, the model can provide estimates of the plasma parameters with a good spatial resolution thanks to the many lines of sight available. This work presents a characterization of the plasma in SPIDER and NIO1 using this method. In particular, we investigate the influence of the RF power and the magnetic filter field on the plasma properties, and compare the results with those of other source and beam diagnostics.