This was my major project, while working at General Fusion. In addition to this project, I was also a part of the machine operators’ group. I assisted plasma experiments, analyzed live results from plasma shots to adjust the plasma “recipe”, and supported competing machine priorities like temperature and B-Field stability sensing.
I worked on an ultrafast shutter that required a maximum closing time of 2ms. This was essential to protect fragile sensing equipment from being damaged by a liquid lithium spray. Furthermore, the nature of a plasma chamber imposed restrictive constraints such as ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) compatibility (~109 Torr), high magnetic flux, large temperature swings (20 – 250 ˚C), and the corrosive nature of lithium. The ultimate resolution was a two-track solution, one for immediate implementation and the other to enable adaptability as the plasma vessels scaled. The first design was a modified commercial x-ray shutter, which I adapted to work in UHV and overdrove¬ to achieve the required closing times. The long-term solution combined the design of a rotating shutter and of nuclear beamline baffles to allow the group to scale to larger pressure vessels.