Magnetic field measurements using the transient internal probe (TIP)

Abstract

The transient internal probe (TIP) is a novel diagnostic technique for measuring magnetic fields in hot plasmas. The concept involves shooting a diamond clad magneto‐optic probe through the plasma at high velocity allowing measurement of the local magnetic field before ablation occurs. Magnetic field measurements are obtained by illuminating the probe with an argon laser and measuring the amount of Faraday rotation in the reflected light. The diagnostic was tested by measuring a permanent magnetic field inside a vacuum chamber with a probe traveling at 2 km/s using an unclad probe. The purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate the capability of the TIP diagnostic and to verify compatibility with plasma vacuum requirements. Magnetic field resolutions of 20 G and 1 cm spatial resolution were achieved. The response time of the detection system is 10 MHz. Introduction of a helium muzzle gas into the plasma chamber was limited to less than 0.4 Torr l.