Ion heating in the PISCES-RF liquid-cooled high-power, steady-state, helicon plasma device

Radio Frequency (RF) driven helicon plasma sources are commonly used for their ability to produce high-density argon plasmas (n > 10^19/m^3) at relatively moderate powers (typical RF power 2 eV in argon plasmas are measured with laser induced fluorescence, which is consistent with a simple volume averaged 0-D power balance model. 1-D Monte Carlo simulations of the neutral density profile for these plasma conditions show strong neutral depletion near the core and predict neutral temperatures well above room temperatures. The plasmas created in this high-power helicon source (when light ions are employed) are ideally suited for fusion divertor plasma-material interaction studies and negative ion production for neutral beams.