Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A vacuum chamber for containing plasma comprisinga cylindrical chamber wall having first and second ends, the chamber wall extending radially around an interior volume and being formed of metal, anda plurality of insulating breaks extending axially along the chamber wall between and in spaced relation with the first and second ends, wherein each of the plurality of insulating breaks includes a slot extending from an exterior surface of the chamber wall through the chamber wall to the interior volume of the vacuum chamber, wherein each of the plurality of insulating breaks includes an insulating material inserted into the slot of the insulating break to prevent the formation of an azimuthal current in the chamber wall substantially in the area of the chamber wall in which the slots extend, anda plurality of metal shrouds positioned within the interior volume and over the insulating material of each of the plurality of insulating breaks, wherein each of the plurality of shrouds being coupled at opposing ends to the chamber wall adjacent opposing ends of the slot of each of the plurality of insulating breaks. 2. The chamber of claim 1 wherein the chamber wall is formed of stainless steel. 3. The chamber of claim 1 wherein the insulating material is a ceramic material. 4. The chamber of claim 1 further comprising a sealing plate extending over the slot, the sealing plate being formed of a substrate, wherein the substrate is fiberglass. 5. The chamber of claim 4 wherein the insulating material is coupled to the sealing plate. 6. The chamber of claim 4 further comprising a means for forming a seal between the sealing plate and the chamber wall. 7. The chamber of claim 6 wherein the sealing plate is formed from fiberglass material. 8. The chamber of claim 1 further comprising a magnetic field generator coupled to the chamber for generating a unidirectional magnetic field within the chamber. 9. The chamber of claim 8 wherein the magnetic field generator includes a plurality of field coils extending azimuthally about the perimeter of the chamber wall. 10. The chamber of claim 9 wherein the plurality of field coils are parallel oriented to one another. 11. The chamber of claim 9 wherein the plurality of field coils includes first and second sets of mirror coils. 12. The chamber of claim 8 further comprising a betatron flux coil extending concentrically with the chamber wall within the interior volume. 13. The chamber of claim 12 wherein the betatron flux coil is positioned outside of the chamber wall. 14. The chamber of claim 12 wherein the betatron flux coil includes a plurality of parallel wound coils. 15. The chamber of claim 1 further comprising one or more ion beam injectors orthogonal to and radially spaced from a longitudinal axis of the chamber wall. 16. The chamber claim 15 wherein the ion beam injectors include a means for neutralizing the electric charge of the ion beams emitted by the ion beam injectors. 17. The chamber of claim 1 further comprising a plasma source for forming an annular cloud of background plasma toward a chamber mid-plane.