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Updated: Jul 15, 2025

Building Langmuir Probes and Emissive Probes for Plasma Potential Measurements in Low Pressure, Low Temperature Plasmas
Published on: May 25, 2021
Overview of the Langmuir probe system on the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade
P J Ryan1, S D Elmore1, J R Harrison1
1United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
A detailed description of the Langmuir probe system on Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak Upgrade is presented. The system features 850 tile-embedded probes and 40 bespoke electronic modules that each have the capability to drive and acquire data from up to 16 probes in a time-multiplexed manner. The system provides spatiotemporal-resolved measurements (1 cm and ∼1 ms, respectively) in the divertor region of ion saturation current, electron temperature, and floating potential. The standard interpretation of current-voltage (IV) characteristics is to apply a four-parameter fit, based on unmagnetized probe theory, which includes a linear model for the ion saturation region. To mitigate the effect of the magnetic field, analysis is restricted to the region of the IV characteristic, which is sensitive to only the tail of the electron energy distribution function.

