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A systematic study of scintillation materials was undertaken to improve the time resolution of the fast ion diagnostic currently installed at TJ-II stellarator. It was found that YAP:Ce (formula YAlO 3 :Ce, Yttrium Aluminum Perovskite doped with Cerium) ionoluminescence offers better sensitivity and time response compared to the standard detector material, SrGa 2 S 4 :Eu (TG-Green), currently used in TJ-II. A comparison between both materials was carried out by irradiating them with H + ions of up to 40 keV using a dedicated laboratory setup. It is found that for the low energy ions of interest at TJ-II, YAP:Ce offers 20 times higher sensitivity than TG-Green and much faster decay time, 27 ns versus 540 ns. It is expected that the use of YAP:Ce in combination with a faster data acquisition and an ion counting software as part of the TJ-II ion luminescent probe will provide 20 times faster data on ion loss.

A Doppler reflectometer system has recently been installed in the stellarator TJ-II. The system is optimized for the Q-band (33-50 GHz) and the high-curvature plasmas produced in TJ-II. The launch angle of the microwave beam can be controlled by a steerable mirror to obtain angles between +/-20 degrees enabling the measurement of perpendicular wave numbers in the range of 3-15 cm(-1). The available angular range allows for comparisons between positive and negative values and additionally for calibration of the system. Localization and k(perpendicular)-estimation is done via the three-dimensional ray/beam-tracing code TRUBA. First measured spectra and radial profiles of the perpendicular velocity of plasma density fluctuations are presented.

Fine structures are found in the TJ-II stellarator electron temperature and density profiles, when they are measured using a high spatial resolution Thomson scattering system. These structures consist of peaks and valleys superimposed to a smooth average. Some irregularities remain in an ensemble average of discharges with similar macroscopic parameters such as line density, central temperature, and plasma current. They are found in all the magnetic configurations explored in plasmas heated by electron cyclotron waves. Their characteristics are shown and their possible origin is discussed.