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Steady-State Plasma Science and Engineering Lab
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A lab that measures and controls the confinement of high-temperature plasma for fusion reactors.
AboutAbout the lab
Elucidating and controlling the confinement physics of high-temperature plasma
Aiming at the realization of fusion power reactors, the Steady-State Plasma Science and Engineering Lab studies and controls the confinement physics of high-temperature plasma exceeding 100 million degrees.
Using the spherical tokamak QUEST, the lab researches how to sustain high-temperature plasma in a steady state, and investigates plasma properties such as turbulence through the development of measurement instruments.
The lab also carries out joint research on the Large Helical Device (LHD) at the National Institute for Fusion Science and on the PLATO tokamak at Kyushu University.
On the lab's website, it is introduced under the name "IdoHasegawaKinoshita Lab."
Key terms
- Plasma
- When fusion fuel is heated to over 100 million degrees, atomic nuclei and electrons separate from each other. This state is called the plasma state.
- Tokamak
- A doughnut-shaped device that confines plasma with magnetic fields. This lab uses QUEST, a spherical tokamak.
- Turbulence
- Complex disturbances in plasma, accompanied by fluctuations in density, electric potential, and magnetic field. It is thought to be a main cause of heat and particle transport.
- Heavy ion beam probe
- A diagnostic instrument that injects an ion beam into plasma and measures fluctuations in electric potential, density, and magnetic field from the ions that emerge. Abbreviated as HIBP.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
Developing a fusion power reactor requires efficiently generating and confining plasma at temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees, and this in turn requires understanding and controlling the properties of plasma. Using QUEST, which can generate steady-state plasma, the lab researches the physical properties of plasma and develops control methods suited to fusion reactors.
*Illustrative imagePlasma particle control with high-temperature metal walls
In long-duration discharges like those in a fusion reactor, the wall becomes hot, particle retention in the wall saturates, and particles can no longer be pumped out sufficiently. The lab uses QUEST's high-temperature metal wall to create reactor-like conditions and conducts research useful for particle control.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment of instruments to measure plasma turbulence
The lab develops instruments that measure turbulence, thought to drive heat and particle flows, and the electric fields that affect it, without touching plasma hotter than 1 million degrees Celsius. It is advancing the heavy ion beam probe, the microwave reflectometer, and the Thomson scattering diagnostic system.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment of the QUEST control system
QUEST is a device capable of long-duration discharges, equipped with magnetic field coils, heating equipment, fueling, and a wall whose temperature can be controlled. The lab uses machine learning to evaluate plasma shape in real time and develops control methods based on it.
*Illustrative imageConfinement mechanisms of spherical tokamaks
A spherical tokamak has a doughnut shape similar to a standard tokamak, yet the dependence of its confinement performance on magnetic field strength and plasma current is very different. Because QUEST may be able to change plasma shape, the lab uses turbulence measurements and shape control to investigate why shape affects confinement performance.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Steady-State Plasma Science and Engineering Lab consist of faculty members, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, research students, and administrative assistants.As of 2025
- ProfessorTakeshi Ido
- Associate ProfessorMakoto Hasegawa
- Assistant ProfessorToshiki Kinoshita
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Demo stv” Patron974 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Plasma particle control with high-temperature metal walls: “EAST Tokamak vacuum vessel 2015” Xiang Gao, Yao Yang, Tao Zhang, Haiqing Liu, Guoqiang Li, Tingfeng Ming, Zixi Liu, Yumin Wang, Long Zeng, Xiang Han et al. / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Development of instruments to measure plasma turbulence: “Laboratory of Dust Plasma Diagnostics” Stanislav Liubauskas / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Development of the QUEST control system: “COMPASS tokamak control room” Sintakso / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Confinement mechanisms of spherical tokamaks: “Tokamak de Varennes-1” Maury Markowitz / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Steady-State Plasma Heating Lab): “MAST side view ( )” Andy Busse / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Steady-State Plasma Control Lab): “MAST bottom view ( )” Andy Busse / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Boundary Plasma Experiment and Analysis Lab): “MSNW Fusion Rocket Prototype” Alan Boyle, GeekWire and MSNW Inc (now defunct). / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Plasma Wave Science and Engineering Lab): “NASA magnetosphere plasma waves diagram” Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith / Public domain (cropped)
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