Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, Vol.19, No.5, 2149-2154, 2001
Radio frequency siliconization: An approach to the coating for the future large superconducting fusion devices
Radio frequency (rf) siliconization has been carried out on the HT-7 superconducting tokamak in the presence of a high magnetic field, which is a try on superconducting tokamaks. Three different procedures of rf siliconization have been tested and a very promising method to produce high quality silicon films was found after comparing the film properties and plasma performance produced by these three different procedures. The Si/C films are amorphous, semitransparent, and homogeneous throughout the layer and adhere firmly to all the substrates. The advantages of silicon atoms as a powerful radiator and a good oxygen getter have been proved. An outstanding merit of rf siliconization to superconducting devices is its fast recovery after a serious degradation of the condition due to the leakage of air to good wall conditions. A wider stable operation region has been obtained and plasma performance is improved immediately after each siliconization due to significant reduction of impurities. Energy confinement time increases more than 50% and particle confinement time increases by a factor of 2. The lifetime of the silicon film is more than 400 standard ohmic heated plasma discharges. Simulation shows that the confinement improvement is due to the reduction of the electron thermal diffusivity in the outer region of the plasma.