[en] We report on the generation of high transient heat and particle fluxes in a linear plasma device by pulsed operation of the plasma source. A capacitor bank is discharged into the source to transiently increase the discharge current up to 1.7 kA, allowing peak densities and temperature of 70x10²⁰ m^-3 and 6 eV corresponding to a surface power density of about 400 MW m^-2.

[en] A high-power pulsed magnetized arc discharge has been developed to allow the superimposition of a dc plasma and a high-power plasma impulse with a single plasma source. A capacitor bank (8400 µF) is parallel-coupled to the current regulated power supply. The current is transiently increased from its stationary value (200 A) up to 14.5 kA in 650 µs. The discharge power is thus raised from 18 kW to 6.5 MW, corresponding to a power density of up to 1.7 × 10¹² W m⁻³–10² times higher than in the dc mode (200 A). The plasma parameters are measured by Thomson scattering ∼4 cm downstream of the nozzle. The electron temperature and density vary from ∼2.6 eV and 7 × 10²⁰ m⁻³ in dc and up to 15 eV and 80 × 10²⁰ m⁻³ during the pulse. A saturation of the electron density with increasing current is observed while the temperature increases monotonically. Time-resolved voltage/current measurements of the arc are used to explain the role of the magnetic field and the evolution of the temperature. (paper)

[en] The power deposition on a tungsten surface exposed to combined pulsed/continuous high power plasma is studied. A study of the correlation between the plasma parameters and the power deposition on the surface demonstrates the effect of particle recycling in the strongly coupled regime. Upon increasing the input power to the plasma source, the energy density to the target first increases then decreases. We suggest that the sudden outgassing of hydrogen particles from the target and their subsequent ionization causes this. This back-flow of neutrals impedes the power transfer to the target, providing a shielding of the metal surface from the intense plasma flux