Blue core discharge characteristics in an inhomogeneous magnetic field helicon plasma coupled with multi-turn solenoid antenna
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18686/cest313Keywords:
helicon plasma; discharge mode; blue core; coupled antenna; power depositionAbstract
A four-turn solenoid antenna has been used to produce high-density helicon plasma in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. Different magnetic field needed for the helicon plasma discharge can be realized easily by moving the axial positions of the solenoid antenna. Three different axial positions, e.g., 6 cm, 12 cm, and 18 cm, had been selected to fix the four-turn solenoid antenna; correspondingly, the magnetic field intensities were 7.69 G, 30.77 G, and 123.08 G, respectively. It was found that the blue core phenomenon appeared at around 300 W and an antenna position of 18 cm. The plasma density can be up to 2 × 1019 m−3 with an antenna coupling efficiency of 90% at 600 W in the blue core. The power coupling mechanism has been discussed based on the helicon plasma discharge diagnostics.
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