Study on stray electrons ejecting from a long-pulse negative ion source for fusion

Abstract The negative ion based neutral beam injection is a desirable plasma heating and current drive method for the large-scale magnetic fusion devices. Due to the strict requirements and difficult development of the negative ion source for fusion, a long-pulse negative ion source has been developed under the framework of the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology in China. This negative ion source consists of a single radio frequency (RF) driver plasma source and a three-electrode accelerator. The typical extraction and acceleration voltage are 4–8 kV and 40–50 kV, respectively. During one shot of the long-pulse (∼100 s) beam extraction, the gas pressure in the vacuum vessel increased sharply and the temperature of the cryopump rise from 8 K to 20 K. Moreover, the vessel wall appeared a high temperature after several long-pulse shots. A self-consistent simulation of beam-gas interaction revealed that the heat loads on the vessel wall should be caused by the stray electrons ejecting from the accelerator. Those stray electrons are mainly generated via the stripping or ionization collisions and strongly deflected by the downstream side of the deflection magnetic field for the co-extracted electron. The location of hot spots measured by infrared thermography is consistent with the simulation results. To solve this problem, a series of electron dumps are designed to avoid the direct impinging of the ejecting electrons on the cryopump and the vessel wall. And the results suggest that the hot spots are almost eliminated.