Development of a Pulsed \textasciitilde 100MW Rotating Magnetic Field Ionization System for C-2W

The Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF) ionization system on the C-2W experiment at Tri Alpha Energy has been substantially upgraded from the previous system on the C-2U facility[1]. This system is used for ionizing gas prior to forming and accelerating Field-Reversed Configurations in the formation sections. Through the use of enhanced power units with increased stored energy, and an improved antenna design for better power coupling, a fully ionized plasma can now be produced in less than 100 us, in a background axial magnetic field in excess of 0.1 T, while at gas pressures in the \textasciitilde 1 mTorr range. The system design, characterization, and experimental ionization parameters will be discussed. [1]M.W. Binderbauer \textit{et al.}, AIP Conf. Proc. 1721, 030003 (2016)