Investigating ZaP Flow Z-Pinch Plasma via Emissive Spectroscopy
- Paper number
IAC-08.E2.2.9
- Author
Ms. Genia Vogman, United States
- Year
2008
- Abstract
The ZaP Flow Z-Pinch experiment is an innovative plasma confinement concept that uses a J×B force to compress and a sheared flow to stabilize an otherwise unstable column of plasma. The applications for such a steady-state plasma configuration include fusion power production, high-energy space propulsion, and nano-scale photolithography. Before these plasma technologies can be made practical and universal, however, confinement experiments need to generate high-temperature high-density plasmas that can be contained for long periods of time. In order to achieve these goals, the ZaP experiment uses an array of diagnostics including magnetic probes, holography, interferometry, and spectroscopy, which in combination allow for the characterization and optimization of ZaP flow Z-pinch parameters. Spectroscopy - the analysis of discreet light spectra emitted by ions in a plasma - is an extremely useful tool for making measurements without perturbing the plasma. Oblique and radial-viewing telescopes are set up on the experiment in order to capture twenty chords of light radiation data corresponding to twenty different locations along the two-centimeter diameter of the pinch. The collected spectra can be used to make velocity and temperature measurements through the ion Doppler effect, magnetic field measurements through Zeeman splitting, as well as density measurements through Stark broadening. These methods are discussed and evaluated based on their effectiveness and the implications of their results, which are important to improving our understanding of plasma instabilities and optimization of plasma confinement methods.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.E2.2.9.PDF (🔒 authorized access only).
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