A 300 GHz collective scattering diagnostic for low temperature plasmas

Rev Sci Instrum. 2008 Oct;79(10):10E725. doi: 10.1063/1.2953460.

Abstract

A compact and portable 300 GHz collective scattering diagnostic employing a homodyne detection scheme has been constructed and installed on the hot helicon experiment (HELIX). Verification of the homodyne detection scheme was accomplished with a rotating grooved aluminum wheel to Doppler shift the interaction beam. The HELIX chamber geometry and collection optics allow measurement of scattering angles ranging from 60 degrees to 90 degrees. Artificially driven ion-acoustic waves are also being investigated as a proof-of-principle test for the diagnostic system.