First measurements of pB fusion in a magnetically confined plasma.

Proton-boron (pB) fusion is an attractive potential energy source but technically challenging to implement. Developing techniques to realize its potential requires first developing the experimental capability to produce pB fusion in the magnetically-confined, thermonuclear plasma environment. Here we report clear experimental measurements supported by simulation of pB fusion with high-energy neutral beams and boron powder injection in a high-temperature fusion plasma (the Large Helical Device) that have resulted in diagnostically significant levels of alpha particle emission.

The integrated diagnostic suite of the C-2W experimental field-reversed configuration device and its applications.

In the current experimental device of TAE Technologies, C-2W (also called "Norman"), record breaking advanced beam-driven field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasmas are produced and sustained in steady state utilizing variable energy neutral beams (15-40 keV, total power up to 20 MW), advanced divertors, bias electrodes, and an active plasma control system. This fully operational experiment is coupled with a fully operational suite of advanced diagnostic systems. The suite consists of 60+ individual systems spanning 20 categories, including magnetic sensors, Thomson scattering, interferometry/polarimetry, spectroscopy, fast imaging, bolometry, reflectometry, charged and neutral particle analysis, fusion product detection, and electric probes.

Internal magnetic field measurements of translated and merged field-reversed configuration plasmas in the FAT-CM device.

Field-reversed configuration (FRC) Amplification via Translation-Collisional Merging (FAT-CM) experiments have recently commenced to study physics phenomena of colliding and merged FRC plasma states. Two independently formed FRCs are translated into the confinement region of the FAT-CM device, collided near the mid-plane of the device with a relative speed of up to ∼400 km/s, and a final merged FRC plasma state is achieved. To measure internal magnetic field profiles of the translated and merged FRC plasmas as well as to understand its collisional-merging process, an internal magnetic probe array, developed by TAE Technologies, has been installed in the mid-plane of the FAT-CM device.

Combination Doppler backscattering/cross-polarization scattering diagnostic for the C-2W field-reversed configuration.

A versatile combination Doppler backscattering and Cross-Polarization Scattering (CPS) diagnostic for the C-2W beam-driven field-reversed configuration is described. This system is capable of measuring density fluctuations and perpendicular magnetic field fluctuations across a wide wavenumber range (2.5 ≤ ≤ 50), with typical resolution Δ / ≤ 0.