Versatile Vacuum- and Plasma-Compatible 3D Probe Positioning System for Large Scale Vacuum Chambers

摘要

This report describes briefly a three-dimensional probe-diagnostic positioning system designed for use in plasma physics experimentation in the Space Physics Simulation Chamber (SPSC) at the Naval Research Laboratory. The system is computer controlled, fully independent, and uses LABVlEW software. The environment inside the SPSC is variable in neutral pressure from atmosphere to lO (exp -6) Torr; the plasma density can vary from 10 (exp 4) to 10 (exp 12)/cc, and there is an external DC magnetic field which is as large as 50 gauss. The purpose of this report is not to provide detailed descriptions of software control or descriptions of the entire engineering effort, although some engineering drawings are included for completeness. An additional, more detailed, treatment, including software and machining details, will follow in a future paper. The intent here is to give the reader interested in developing such a system a view of the advantages of this type of design for large scale vacuum systems where detailed descriptions of the plasma state are desired in three dimensions.