Yuchen Qian, Walter Gekelman, Patrick Pribyl, Tom Sketchley, Shreekrishna Tripathi, Zoltan Lucky, Marvin Drandell, Stephen Vincena, Thomas Look, Phil Travis, Troy Carter, Gary Wan, Mattia Cattelan, Graeme Sabiston, Angelica Ottaviano, Richard Wirz
The Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) produces an 18 m long, magnetized, quiescent, and uniform plasma at a high repetition rate to enable studies of fundamental plasma physics. Here, we report on a major upgrade to the LAPD plasma source that allows for more robust operation and significant expansion of achievable plasma parameters. The original plasma source made use of a heated barium oxide (BaO) coated nickel sheet as an electron emitter. This source had a number of drawbacks, including a limited range of plasma density (≲4...
August 1, 2023: Review of Scientific Instruments