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The miniaturization of receiver arrays permits the arrangement of numerous poloidally staggered radial sightlines of an electron cyclotron emission (ECE) diagnostic for the measurement of the electron temperature and its fluctuations, making two-dimensional (2D) imaging of the electron temperature and its fluctuations caused by plasma turbulence possible. For the stellarator W7-AS, the development of a fully monolithic microwave integrated circuit 150 GHz subharmonic mixer array is under development. As a first step, a 2D ECE system for the measurement of electron temperature fluctuations using four individual horn-reflector arrangements in conjunction with multichannel heterodyne radiometers was installed and set into operation. With Gaussian beam optics and four poloidally staggered sightlines, electron temperature fluctuations could be characterized in radial and poloidal directions simultaneously. First observations in purely electron cyclotron resonance heated stellarator plasmas reveal a broadband drift-wave feature. Earlier experiments showing a decrease of the electron temperature fluctuation level with increasing heating power were confirmed. Additionally, it was revealed, using the 2D ECE correlation radiometer, that an increased velocity shear might account for the decrease of the coherence length and thus for the reduction of the electron temperature fluctuation level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An eight-channel radiometer for simultaneous measurement of electron temperatures at different radii via electron cyclotron emission is described. It is divided into two parts, the interchangeable front end and the filter section. By replacing the front end, both first and second-harmonic electron cyclotron emission measurements are possible in the range of 50–180 GHz. The instrument is absolutely calibrated with an accuracy estimated to be within ±10%. The spatial resolution ΔR/R is of the order 10-3, the temporal resolution 20 μs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wendelstein 7-X, a superconducting optimized stellarator built in Greifswald/Germany, started its first plasmas with the last closed flux surface (LCFS) defined by 5 uncooled graphite limiters in December 2015. At the end of the 10 weeks long experimental campaign (OP1.1) more than 20 independent diagnostic systems were in operation, allowing detailed studies of many interesting plasma phenomena. For example, fast neutral gas manometers supported by video cameras (including one fast-frame camera with frame rates of tens of kHz) as well as visible cameras with different interference filters, with field of views covering all ten half-modules of the stellarator, discovered a MARFE-like radiation zone on the inboard side of machine module 4. This structure is presumably triggered by an inadvertent plasma-wall interaction in module 4 resulting in a high impurity influx that terminates some discharges by radiation cooling. The main plasma parameters achieved in OP1.1 exceeded predicted values in discharges of a length reaching 6 s. Although OP1.1 is characterized by short pulses, many of the diagnostics are already designed for quasi-steady state operation of 30 min discharges heated at 10 MW of ECRH. An overview of diagnostic performance for OP1.1 is given, including some highlights from the physics campaigns.