Studies of plasma interactions with tungsten targets in PF-1000U facility

This paper presents results of experimental studies of tungsten samples of 99.95% purity, which were irradiated by intense plasma-ion streams. The behaviour of tungsten, and particularly its structural change induced by high plasma loads, is of great importance for fusion technology. The reported measurements were performed within a modified PF-1000U plasma-focus facility operated at the IFPiLM in Warsaw, Poland. The working gas was pure deuterium. In order to determine the main plasma parameters and to study the behaviour of impurities at different instants of the plasma discharge, the optical emission spectroscopy was used. The dependence of plasma parameters on the initial charging voltage (16, 19 and 21 kV) was studied. Detailed optical measurements were performed during interactions of a plasma stream with the tungsten samples placed at the z-axis of the facility, at a distance of 6 cm from the electrode outlets. The recorded spectra showed distinct WI and WII spectral lines. Investigation of a target surface morphology, after its irradiation by intense plasma streams, was performed by means of an optical microscope. The observations revealed that some amounts of the electrodes material (mainly copper) were deposited upon the irradiated sample surface. In all the cases, melted zones were observed upon the irradiated target surface, and in experiments performed at the highest charging voltage there were formed some cracks.