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Measurements of the alpha particle induced current in metal foils

Steward, Brian
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2017
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We have investigated the use of a 1.3 mCi 244Cm source as a reproduction of a lost α particle flux from high temperature fusion plasma. The purpose of the experiment was to allow the testing of thin-foil Faraday collectors as a lost α particle diagnostic. Many sets of measurements were made: the first with a single thick Al sheet and subsequently with a thin (2.5 µm) Ni foil backed by a thick Al sheet under varying conditions. The measurements were made with a commercial Keithley picoammeter and with a custom built high precision current integrator. Measurements were made at pressures between 1 mTorr and atmosphere. At higher pressures, above 1 Torr, the measured current was greatly exceeded by the predicted current. At lower pressures, less than 0.1 Torr, the measured current was observed to be in rough agreement with the expected current. A new technique to measure pressure in the regime of 1 to 50 Torr with an accuracy of about 1% at the lower pressures is explored.
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