Plasma Surface Interactions Research at UW-Madison

Dynamics of IONic Implantation & Sputtering On Surfaces

Goal: Accurately measure the real-time response of the PFC material surface to plasma bombardment using in-situ high-energy ion beam analysis.

October 13, 2005: Helicon plasma column on target! read more...

Look around our 1.7 MV tandem ion accelerator.

The interaction between plasmas and surfaces is complicated by the turbulent nature of plasma transport across magnetic fields in a fusion device. This picture shows filaments of dense plasma (red) extending out to surfaces far away from the confined plasma. Such interactions could greatly limit the lifetime of walls in a fusion reactor that operates 24/7.

The avoidance and mitigation of disruptions are critical issues for advancing the tokamak concept as a viable magnetic fusion energy source. A disruption is initiated by some global instability that causes a rapid (~10-3 s) thermal quench of the plasma kinetic energy. The resulting resistive plasma causes the confining poloidal magnetic field to decay during the current quench.

PSI group publications, presentations, and reports.

Check out our new laboratory logbook. Read about our lab operations. Lab users can log in and post updates.

Prof. Dennis Whyte
University of Wisconsin - Madison
1500 Engineering Dr., Madison WI 53706 USA
Tel: (608) 262-4854
E-mail: whyte@engr.wisc.edu

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