Characterization of high flux magnetized helium plasma in SCU-PSI linear device

A high-flux linear plasma device in Sichuan University plasma-surface interaction (SCU-PSI) based on a cascaded arc source has been established to simulate the interactions between helium and hydrogen plasma with the plasma-facing components in fusion reactors. In this paper, the helium plasma has been characterized by a double-pin Langmuir probe. The results show that the stable helium plasma beam with a diameter of 26mm was constrained very well at a magnetic field strength of 0.3 T. The core density and ion flux of helium plasma have a strong dependence on the applied current, magnetic field strength and gas flow rate. It could reach an electron density of 1.2×10 ¹⁹ m ^-3 and helium ion flux of 3.2×10 ²² m ^-2 s ^-1, with a gas flow rate of 4 standard liter per minute, magnetic field strength of 0.2 T and input power of 11kW. With the addition of -80 V applied to the target to increase the helium ion energy and the exposure time of 2h, the flat top temperature reached about 530°C. The different sizes of nanostructured fuzz on irradiated tungsten and molybdenum samples surfaces under the bombardment of helium ions were observed by scanning electron microscopy. These results measured in the SCU-PSI linear device provide a reference for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor related PSI research.