Development of a Time Synchronized CW-Laser Induced Fluorescence Measurement for Quasi-Periodic Oscillatory Plasma Discharges

An advanced CW laser induced fluorescence diagnostic technique, capable of correlating high frequency current fluctuations to the resulting fluorescence excitation lineshapes, has been developed. This presentation describes this so-called ``Sample-Hold'' method of time-synchronization, and provides the steps taken to validate this technique, including simulations and experimental measurements on a 60 Hz Xe lamp discharge. Initial results for time-synchronized velocity measurements on the quasi-periodic oscillatory mode of a magnetic cusped plasma accelerator are also presented. These results show that the positions of the ionization and peak acceleration regions in the device vary over the course of a discharge current oscillation.