The next step in the development of a negative ion beam plasma neutralizer for ITER NBI

Deuterium atom beam injectors developed for ITER plasma heating and current drive are based on negative ion acceleration and further neutralization with a gas target. The maximal efficiency of the gas stripping process is 60%. The replacement of the gas neutralizer by a plasma one must increase the neutral yield to 80%. An overview of experimental studies of microwave discharges in a multicusp magnetic system chosen as the base device for plasma neutralizer (PN) realization and design development of PNs for ITER neutral beam injectors (NBIs) is presented. The experimental results achieved with the PN model PNX-U are discussed. Plasma confinement, gas flows and ionization degree were investigated. High density plasmas with ne ~1018 m-3 with low electron and ion temperatures ( ≈ 5-6 eV) and a high ionization degree (not less than 40%) at its centre have been generated in operation with argon.