Pre-design of Magnum-PSI: A new plasma-wall interaction experiment

The FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen is preparing the construction of Magnum-PSI, a magnetized (3 T), steady state, large area (80 cm²) high-flux (up to 10²⁴ H⁺ ions m^-2 s^-1) plasma generator. The aim of the linear plasma device Magnum-PSI is to provide a controlled, highly accessible laboratory experiment in which the interaction of a magnetized plasma with different surfaces can be studied in detail. Plasma parameters can be varied over a wide range, in particular covering the high-density, low-temperature conditions expected for the detached divertor plasma of ITER. The target set-up will be extremely flexible allowing the investigation of different materials under a large variety of conditions (temperatures, inclination, biasing, coatings, etc.). A range of target materials will be used, including carbon, tungsten and other metals, and mixed materials. Because of the large plasma beam of 10 cm diameter and spacious vacuum tank, even the test of whole plasma-facing component mock-ups will be possible. In this article, we will present the pre-design of the Magnum-PSI experiment. We will focus on the requirements of the vacuum system and the 3 T superconducting magnet. We briefly introduce some of the other sub-systems on Magnum-PSI such as the target and target manipulator.