Improved Pellet Charge Exchange Measurements in Large Helical Device

Abstract

The pellet charge exchange technique (PCX), which is a combination of the compact neutral particle analyzer and an impurity pellet, is a unique method to observe the radial energetic particle distribution. There are not only charge exchange reactions between the hydrogen in the pellet and a proton, but also between the partially ionized carbon in the pellet and the proton. The neutralization factor from energetic ion to neutral particle could be deduced from the electron temperature and the electron density of the pellet cloud. The radial profiles of energetic particle distribution were measured and compared in various ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICH) plasmas. The energetic particle flux significantly increased at the resonance layer created by the ICH. PCX provides more precise information about the resonance layer than conventional neutral particle diagnostics.