M. Bassan

Confinement studies on RFX

The results of the first year of operation of the experiment RFX are reported. Profiles of electron density, electron and ion temperature and impurity emission have been measured at plasma current I<0.7 MA. The energy confinement parameters at different density are reported, the best values ( tau E approximately 1ms, beta theta approximately 8%) being obtained operating at higher density. The role of the impurity content in determining the present performance of the experiment is discussed.

Chevron beam dump for ITER edge Thomson scattering system

This paper contains the design of the beam dump for the ITER edge Thomson scattering system and mainly concerns its lifetime under the harsh thermal and electromagnetic loads as well as tight space allocation. The lifetime was estimated from the multi-pulse laser-induced damage threshold. In order to extend its lifetime, the structure of the beam dump was optimized. A number of bent sheets aligned parallel in the beam dump form a shape called a chevron which enables it to avoid the concentration of the incident laser pulse energy. The chevron beam dump is expected to withstand thermal loads due to nuclear heating, radiation from the plasma, and numerous incident laser pulses throughout the entire ITER project with a reasonable margin for the peak factor of the beam profile. Structural analysis was also carried out in case of electromagnetic loads during a disruption. Moreover, detailed issues for more accurate assessments of the beam dumps lifetime are clarified. Variation of the bi-directional reflection distribution function (BRDF) due to erosion by or contamination of neutral particles derived from the plasma is one of the most critical issues that needs to be resolved. In this paper, the BRDF was assumed, and the total amount of stray light and the absorbed laser energy profile on the beam dump were evaluated.

Thomson scattering diagnostic systems in ITER

Thomson scattering (TS) is a proven diagnostic technique that will be implemented in ITER in three independent systems. The Edge TS will measure electron temperature Te and electron density ne profiles at high resolution in the region with r/a>0.8 (with a the minor radius). The Core TS will cover the region r/a<0.85 and shall be able to measure electron temperatures up to 40 keV . The Divertor TS will observe a segment of the divertor plasma more than 700 mm long and is designed to detect Te as low as 0.3 eV . The Edge and Core systems are primary contributors to Te and ne profiles. Both are installed in equatorial port 10 and very close together with the toroidal distance between the two laser beams of less than 600 mm at the first wall (~ 6° toroidal separation), a characteristic that should allow to reliably match the two profiles in the region 0.8<r/a<0.85. Today almost every existing fusion machine has one or more TS systems installed, therefore substantial experience has been accumulated worldwide on practical methods for the optimization of the technique. However the ITER environment is imposing specific loads (e.g. gamma and neutron radiation, temperatures, disruption-induced stresses) and also access and reliability constraints that require new designs for many of the sub-systems. The challenges and the proposed solutions for all three TS systems are presented.

Progresses in development of the ITER edge Thomson scattering system

This paper includes discussions of spatial resolution and accuracy of the edge Thomson scattering system in ITER (ITER ETS). In the present design, the dominant factor for spatial resolution degradation relative to the scattering length is aberrations of the collection optics. A scattering length of approximately 4 mm is acceptable to obtain a spatial resolution of 5 mm. Statistical errors were evaluated according to measurement accuracy. Since the background light during ITER plasma discharge is much stronger than the Thomson scattering, the laser pulse duration is one of the most crucial specifications to obtain accurate measurements. The impact of fast sampling relative to current integration was also investigated. It is expected that the measurement accuracy improves when the waveform of the scattered light is sampled directly particularly for low density measurement.

Development of laser beam injection system for the Edge Thomson Scattering (ETS) in ITER

This paper focuses on the design and development of the laser injection system for the ITER Edge Thomson Scattering system (ETS). The ITER ETS achieves a temporal resolution of 100 Hz by firing two 50 Hz laser beams alternatively. The use of dual lasers enables us to perform the Thomson scattering measurements at a temporal resolution of 50 Hz in case that one of the laser systems stops functioning. A new type of beam combiner was developed to obtain a single beam that is collinear and fixed linearly polarized from two laser beams using a motor-driven rotating half-wave plate. The rotating half-wave plate method does not induce misalignment even if the rotating mechanism malfunctions. The combined beam is relayed from the diagnostic hall to the plasma using mirror optics and is absorbed at the beam dump integrated on the inner blanket. The beam alignment system was designed to direct the laser beam onto the center of the beam dump head. The beam position at the beam dump is monitored by four alignment laser beams which propagate parallel to the diagnostic Nd:YAG laser beam and imaging systems installed outside the diagnostic port.

Conceptual design of a polarimetric Thomson scattering diagnostic in ITER

Polarimetric Thomson scattering (TS) is a novel diagnostic technique proposed as an alternative to conventional (spectral) TS, for the measurement of the electron temperature Te and density ne in very hot fusion plasmas. Contrary to spectral TS, which is based on the reconstruction of the Doppler broadened frequency spectrum, in polarimetric TS Te is determined from the depolarization of the scattered radiation. The technique is suitable for ITER, where it is expected to be competitive with conventional spectral TS for measurements in the highest Te range, specially in backward-like conditions with the scattering angle 90° θ ≤ 180°. In this paper we consider a hypothetical polarimetric TS diagnostic for ITER and evaluate its performance for the θ = 145° scattering condition typical of the core TS system and also for a different scattering geometry in which, using a tangential laser beam, the central region of the ITER plasma can be observed under a scattering angle θ ~ 75°. In both cases we calculate the expected errors on the measured Te and ne that can be obtained with a simple, two-channel polarimeter, and taking into account that only a fraction of the TS wavelength spectrum is detected. In both cases the expected performances are compared with those of the conventional spectral core TS diagnostic to determine the plasma conditions in which the polarimetric technique is more advantageous. A measurement of the depolarization effect of the TS radiation using the JET High Resolution TS system of JET is also discussed.

ITER perspective on fusion reactor diagnostics - A spectroscopic view

The ITER tokamak requires diagnostics that on the one hand have a high sensitivity, high spatial and temporal resolution and a high dynamic range, while on the other hand are robust enough to survive in a harsh environment.In recent years significant progress has been made in addressing critical challenges to the development of spectroscopic (but also other) diagnostics. This contribution presents an overview of recent achievements in 4 topical areas:• First mirror protection and cleaning• Nuclear confinement• Radiation mitigation strategy for optical and electronic components• Calibration strategies

Design of the collection optics for the Core Plasma Thomson Scattering (CPTS) in ITER

In the ITER Core Plasma Thomson Scattering, the scattered light collection optics system is installed both inside and outside the diagnostic port under vacuum. The length of the optical path (∼6 m) and the need to shield the neutron and γ radiation increased the complexity of the system with the inclusion of multiple dog-legs, forcing the use of many elements with optical power. Multiple rounds of design have been required in order to satisfy iteratively the system requirements in terms of resolution, aberration, and shielding. The adoption of quasi-free-form reflective surfaces for several mirrors eventually allowed the correct compromise between all conflicting requirements.

Analysis of measurement errors for Thomson diagnostics of non-Maxwellian plasmas in tokamak reactors

The study is stimulated by the expected noticeable deviation of the electron velocity distribution function (eVDF) from a Maxwellian under condition of a strong auxiliary heating of electron plasmas in tokamak-reactors. The key principles of accuracy estimation of the Thomson scattering diagnostic of non-Maxwellian plasmas in tokamak-reactors are presented. The algorithm extends the conventional approach to the assessment of non-Maxwellian plasmas measurements errors for a broad class of deviations of the eVDF from a Maxwellian. The algorithm is based on solving the inverse problem many times to determine main parameters of the eVDF with allowance for all possible sources of error and statistical variation of the input parameters of the problem. The method is applied to a preliminary analysis of the advantages of the formerly suggested use of various wavelengths of probing laser radiation in the Thomson diagnostics of non-Maxwellian plasma on the example of the core plasma Thomson scattering diagnostic system which is under design for ITER tokamak. The results obtained confirm the relevance of the diversification of the probing laser radiation wavelength.

Scaling Thomson scattering to big machines

Thomson scattering is a widely used diagnostic tool for local measurement of both electron temperature and electron density. It is used for both low and high temperature plasmas and it is a key diagnostic on all fusion devices. The extremely low cross-section of the reaction increases the complexity of the design. Since the early days of fusion, when a simple single point measurement was used, the design moved to a multi-point system with a large number of spatial points, LIDAR system or high repetition Thomson scattering diagnostic which are used nowadays. The initial low electron temperature approximation has been replaced by the full relativistic approach necessary for large devices as well as for ITER with expected higher plasma temperature. Along the way, the different development needs and the issues that exist need to be addressed to ensure that the technique is developed sufficiently to handle challenges of the bigger devices of the future as well as current developments needed for ITER. For large devices, the achievement of the necessary temperature range represents an important task. Both high and low temperatures can be measured, however, a large dynamic range makes the design difficult as size of detector and dynamic range are linked together. Therefore, the requirements of the new devices are extending the boundaries of these parameters. Namely, ITER presents challenges as access is also difficult but big efforts have been made to cope with this. This contribution contains a broad review of Thomson scattering diagnostics used in current devices together with comments on recent progress and speculation regarding future developments needed for future large scale devices.