Electric Field Measurements of the Capacitively Coupled Magnetized RF Sheath Utilizing Passive Optical Emission Spectroscopy

A major challenge facing magnetic confinement fusion is the implementation of reliable plasma heating systems. Ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) is a key technique utilized to achieve the ion temperatures necessary for desirable fusion reaction rates. ICRH systems are designed to couple energy into the core plasma ions through a resonant interaction with an electromagnetic wave in the radio frequency range. The interaction of the wave with the scrape off layer plasma establishes an electric field which terminates directly on the plasma facing surfaces and is referred to as the near-field. In order to bridge the gap between the theoretical and actual performance of ICRF antennas, experimental measurement of this electric field is highly desired. However, due to the large amount of power launched by ICRF antennas only non-local measurements have thus far been obtained. The research presented in this dissertation is centered on the development of a non-perturbative diagnostic to locally measure the near-field with high spatial and temporal resolution.;The main objective of the research presented in this dissertation is to develop and validate a spectroscopic diagnostic capable of measuring local time periodic electric fields. The development phase of the diagnostic consisted of atomic physics formulation and was carried out in two steps. The first involved the calculation of the electronic structure of the one and two-electron atom utilizing the hydrogenic wave function. The second involved the calculation of the spectral line profile based on the electric dipole connection operator. The validate phase of the diagnostic consisted of implementation of the atomic physics to measure the electric field topology associated with the capacitively coupled magnetized RF sheath using passive OES. The experimental measurements are then compared to a simple one-dimensional analytical model providing the validation of the developed atomic physics.