Development of a novel surface assisted volume negative hydrogen ion source.

H(-) ion based neutral beam injector is a critical heating and current drive system in a fusion reactor. However, the present H(-) ion source configuration has limitations in terms of production, extraction, cesium (Cs) inventory and management. To overcome these limitations, a proof-of-principle experiment based on a novel concept regarding surface assisted volume H(-) ions production by sprinkling Cs coated tungsten (W) dust grains (low work function surface) into a hydrogen plasma is carried out. Four different diagnostics have been used to validate the concept. The H(-) ion fraction is estimated from (a) Langmuir probe diagnostic, (b) phase velocity of ion acoustic waves, (c) dust current and confirmed by the measurement of (d) Balmer line ratio. The measured H(-) ion fraction with respect to the plasma density for different discharge conditions varies from ~0.2 to 0.3 in presence of Cs coated W dust particles. The experimental results show good agreement with the theoretical estimation.