E. Andersson Sundén

The TOFOR neutron spectrometer and its first use at JET

A time-of-flight neutron spectrometer (TOFOR) has been developed to measure the 2.45 MeV d+d→3He+n neutron emission from D plasmas. The TOFOR design features the capability to operate at high rates in the 100 kHz range, data collection with fast time digitizing and storing, and monitoring of the signals from the scintillation detectors used. This article describes the principles of the instrument and its installation at JET and presents preliminary data to illustrate the TOFOR performance as a neutron emission spectroscopy diagnostic.

Measurements of fast ions and their interactions with MHD activity using neutron emission spectroscopy

Ion cyclotron radio frequency (ICRF) heating can produce fast ion populations with energies reaching up to several megaelectronvolts. Here, we present unique measurements of fast ion distributions from an experiment with 3rd harmonic ICRF heating on deuterium beams using neutron emission spectroscopy (NES). From the experiment, very high DD neutron rates were observed, using only modest external heating powers. This was attributed to acceleration of deuterium beam ions to energies up to about 2-3 MeV, where the DD reactivity is on a par with that of the DT reaction. The high neutron rates allowed for observations of changes in the fast deuterium energy distribution on a time scale of 50 ms. Clear correlations were seen between fast deuterium ions in different energy ranges and magnetohydrodynamic activities, such as monster sawteeth and toroidal Alfven eigen modes (TAE). Specifically, NES data showed that the number of deuterons in the region between 1 and 1.5 MeV were decaying significantly during strong TAE activity, while ions with lower energies around 500 keV were not affected. This was attributed to resonances with the TAE modes.

Single crystal diamond detector measurements of deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium neutrons in Joint European Torus fusion plasmas

First simultaneous measurements of deuterium-deuterium (DD) and deuterium-tritium neutrons from deuterium plasmas using a Single crystal Diamond Detector are presented in this paper. The measurements were performed at JET with a dedicated electronic chain that combined high count rate capabilities and high energy resolution. The deposited energy spectrum from DD neutrons was successfully reproduced by means of Monte Carlo calculations of the detector response function and simulations of neutron emission from the plasma, including background contributions. The reported results are of relevance for the development of compact neutron detectors with spectroscopy capabilities for installation in camera systems of present and future high power fusion experiments.

Fast-ion distributions from third harmonic ICRF heating studied with neutron emission spectroscopy

The fast-ion distribution from third harmonic ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) heating on the Joint European Torus is studied using neutron emission spectroscopy with the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR. The energy dependence of the fast deuteron distribution function is inferred from the measured spectrum of neutrons born in DD fusion reactions, and the inferred distribution is compared with theoretical models for ICRF heating. Good agreements between modelling and measurements are seen with clear features in the fast-ion distribution function, that are due to the finite Larmor radius of the resonating ions, replicated. Strong synergetic effects between ICRF and neutral beam injection heating were also seen. The total energy content of the fast-ion population derived from TOFOR data was in good agreement with magnetic measurements for values below 350 kJ.

Neutron spectroscopy measurements and modeling of neutral beam heating fast ion dynamics

The energy spectrum of the neutron emission from beam-target reactions in fusion plasmas at the Joint European Torus (JET) has been investigated. Different beam energies as well as injection angles were used. Both measurements and simulations of the energy spectrum were done. The measurements were made with the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR. Simulations of the neutron spectrum were based on first-principle calculations of neutral beam deposition profiles and the fast ion slowing down in the plasma using the code NUBEAM, which is a module of the TRANSP package. The shape of the neutron energy spectrum was seen to vary significantly depending on the energy of the beams as well as the injection angle and the deposition profile in the plasma. Cross validations of the measured and modeled neutron energy spectra were made, showing a good agreement for all investigated scenarios.

New MPRu instrument for neutron emission spectroscopy at JET

The MPRu is an upgrade of the magnetic proton recoil (MPR) neutron spectrometer that has been used for 14MeV DT neutron measurements at JET during the DTE1 (1997) and TTE (2003) campaigns. In this contribution the principles of the MPR and its upgrade will be presented. The MPRu allows measurements of the full range of fusion relevant neutron energies, 1.5–18MeV, including the 14MeV DT neutrons, now with significantly reduced background, and also new high-quality measurements of the 2.5MeV DD neutron component. This improvement is made possible by the use of a new proton recoil detector in combination with custom-built transient recorder cards. The importance of these instrumental improvements for extending the use of the MPRu in diagnosis of D and DT plasmas will be discussed. Results from the first 2.5MeV measurements performed with the MPRu during JET high level commissioning in April 2006 are presented.

Calculating fusion neutron energy spectra from arbitrary reactant distributions

The Directional Relativistic Spectrum Simulator (DRESS) code can perform Monte-Carlo calculations of reaction product spectra from arbitrary reactant distributions, using fully relativistic kinemat ...

Neutron emission spectroscopy results for internal transport barrier and mode conversion ion cyclotron resonance heating experiments at JET

The effect of ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) on (3He)D plasmas at JET was studied with the time of flight optimized rate (TOFOR) spectrometer dedicated to 2.5 MeV dd neutron measurements. In internal transport barrier (ITB) plasma experiments with large 3He concentrations (X(3He)>15%) an increase in neutron yield was observed after the ITB disappeared but with the auxiliary neutral beam injection and ICRH power still applied. The analysis of the TOFOR data revealed the formation of a high energy (fast) D population in this regime. The results were compared to other mode conversion experiments with similar X(3He) but slightly different heating conditions. In this study we report on the high energy neutron tails originating from the fast D ions and their correlation with X(3He) and discuss the light it can shed on ICRH-plasma power coupling mechanisms.

Forward fitting of experimental data from a NE213 neutron detector installed with the magnetic proton recoil upgraded spectrometer at JET

In this paper, we present the results obtained from the data analysis of neutron spectra measured with a NE213 liquid scintillator at JET. We calculated the neutron response matrix of the instrument combining MCNPX simulations, a generic proton light output function measured with another detector and the fit of data from ohmic pulses. For the analysis, we selected a set of pulses with neutral beam injection heating (NBI) only and we applied a forward fitting procedure of modeled spectral components to extract the fraction of thermal neutron emission. The results showed the same trend of the ones obtained with the dedicated spectrometer TOFOR, even though the values from the NE213 analysis were systematically higher. This discrepancy is probably due to the different lines of sight of the two spectrometers (tangential for the NE213, vertical for TOFOR). The uncertainties on the thermal fraction estimates were from 4 to 7 times higher than the ones from the TOFOR analysis.

Neutron spectroscopy results of JET high-performance plasmas and extrapolations to DT performance

In a fusion reactor with high energy gain, the fusion power will be mainly thermonuclear (THN). Measurements of the THN neutron rate are a good performance indicator of a fusion plasma, requiring neutron emission spectroscopy (NES) measurements to distinguish thermal and nonthermal contributions. We report here on recent NES results from JET high-performance plasmas with high fractions (about 65%) of THN emission. The analysis is made with a framework for analyzing NES data, taking into account THN reactions and beam-target reactions. The results are used to extrapolate to the equivalent DT rates. Finally, we discuss the applicability of using NES in the deuterium phase of ITER, both for the extrapolations to ITER’s future DT performance as well as for the measurements of confined energetic ions.