MEPhIST-0 Tokamak for Education and Research

An overview of the MEPhIST-0 educational and research small-scale spherical tokamak project is presented including the vacuum vessel, magnetic field systems, and diagnostics. In contrast to other small machines, it is an advanced tokamak with D-shaped plasma equipped with an electron-cyclotron resonance pre-ionization system for plasma startup and an ion-cyclotron resonance system for plasma heating and wall conditioning. The design choices taken are discussed from the perspective of a primarily educational installation. The machine design is simplified while remaining relevant to larger devices. First plasma results obtained in 2021 are presented.