The new test facility ELISE (Extraction fro
m a Large Ion Source Experi
ment) has been designed and installed since Nove
mber 2009 at IPP Garching to support the develop
ment of the radio frequency driven negative ion source for the Neutral Bea
m Syste
m on ITER. The test facility is now co
mpletely asse
mbled; all auxiliary syste
ms have been co
mmissioned and are operational. First plas
ma and bea
m operation is starting in October 2012.
The source is designed to deliver an ion beam of 20 A of D? ions, operating at 0.3 Pa source pressure at an electron to ion current ratio below 1. Beam extraction is limited to 60 kV for 10 s every 3 minutes, while plasma operation of the source can be performed continuously for 1 hour. The ion source and extraction system have the same width as the ITER source, but only half the height, i.e. 1 ¡Á 1 m2 source area with an extraction area of 0.1 m2. The aperture pattern of the extraction system and the multi driver source concept stay as close as possible to the ITER design. Easy access to the source for diagnostic tools or modifications allows to analyze and optimize the source performance. Among other possibilities many different magnetic filter field configurations inside the source can be realized to enhance the negative ion extraction and to reduce the co-extraction of electrons. Beam power and profiles are measured by calorimetry and thermography on an inertially cooled target as well as by beam emission spectroscopy. Cs evaporation into the source is done via two dispenser ovens.