Progress of the ELISE test facility: results of caesium operation with low RF power

The Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik test facility ELISE is an important intermediate step towards the in-time realization of the ITER neutral beam injection system (NBI). ELISE is equipped with a large radio-frequency (RF) driven negative hydrogen ion source (1 × 0.9 m2) of half the size of the ITER NBI source. The paper reports on the main results of the very first operation of the source with caesium, but with low RF power, both for hydrogen and deuterium, with pulse lengths of up to 500 s. The results are rather encouraging for the achievement of the required ITER NBI parameters, especially in hydrogen, where large current densities with respect to the low RF power could be achieved at a ratio of co-extracted electrons to extracted ions of 0.5–0.6 at the relevant source pressure of 0.3 Pa. The required magnetic filter field was significantly lower than expected from the experience with the prototype RF source. Similar large extracted ion currents could be achieved also in deuterium, but with larger amounts of co-extracted electrons. Here, the required ratio of co-extracted electrons to extracted ions of one could be achieved only in short pulses.