Neutral particle time-of-flight analyzer for the Tandem Mirror Experiment Upgrade (TMX-U)

We describe the design and performance of a time-of-flight (ToF) analyzer being built for installation on the east end cell of the Tandem Mirror Experiment Upgrade (TMX-U). Its primary purpose is to measure the velocity distribution of escaping charge exchange neutral particles having energies between 20 and 5000 electron volts (eV). It also enables direct determination of the thermal barrier potential when used in conjunction with the plasma potential diagnostic and the end loss ion spectrometer. In addition, it can measure the velocity distribution of passing ions leaving the central cell and of ions trapped in the thermal barrier.