Probe measurements of the PDX divertor plasma in ohmic and neutral beam heated discharges

A graphite-shielded probe was recently installed in the divertor region of PDX to continuously monitor local electron temperature, electron density (from the ion saturation current), and plasma floating potential throughout divertor discharges. In ohmically heated deuterium plasmas, the electron temperature near the separatrix was 6 to 12 eV; these values confirm the low T_e inferred from the density dependence of Balmer line emission from the divertor plasmas. During neutral beam heating, PDX divertor discharges were characterized by a sharp transition at which time the main chamber plasma density increased rapidly, the divertor H_α emission dropped, and the global energy confinement increased abruptly. At later times, edge relaxation oscillations, characterized by spikes in the H_α emission, occurred and were accompanied by a clamp in the density rise and lower confinement time. Limited scans of the temperature and density measured by the divertor probe indicated that these parameters changed with discharge conditions primarily near the separatrix. With the onset of neutral beam injection the temperature and density rose by a factor of 1.5 and 2-4 respectively. Transient drops in T_e to values as low as 2 eV and concomitant rises in n_e were sometimes observed near the time of the transition into the high confinement mode. Later in the discharge, the values returned to their pre-H-mode level. TV camera observations of the divertor probe revealed a "shadow" along the field lines indicating a well-defined flow in the vicinity of the separatrix.