Pulsed High Power Helicon Plasma Source

Eagle Harbor Technologies, Inc. (EHT) has developed a high power helicon plasma source for testing a repetitively pulsed, high power RF system for plasma heating. This system is built on the work of multiple SBIR programs including the development of a SiC MOSFET full-bridge and electrodeless plasma source. This full bridge drives a series resonant load, which allows for a low-cost way to produce large antenna currents in excess of 2.5 kA at 1 MHz. The resulting plasma has been characterized over a wide range of magnetic field strengths and input power levels. We will present Langmuir probe data showing plasma density and electron temperature over a range of plasma parameters.