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Spectra measured by an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometer frequently suffer large spike noise when Large Helical Device is operated in low-density range (≤ 3 × 10(13) cm(-3)) with neutral beam injection (NBI). The spike noise completely disappears in electron cyclotron heating discharges. In order to examine the effect of NBI, a carbon filter with thickness of 150 nm was installed in the EUV spectrometer. As a result, the spike noise was reduced by an order of magnitude. It is experimentally verified that the spike noise is caused by escaping high-energy neutral particles resulting from the circulating high-energy hydrogen ions borne from NBI.

This article describes changes of optical properties of retroreflectors installed on the inner wall of the vacuum vessel of the Large Helical Device. They were made of stainless steel and were used for a CO(2) laser polarimeter. The reflectivity for a CO(2) laser beam dropped up to 40% after the start of glow discharge cleanings and main plasma experiments. Then it decreased gradually. The reflectivity in a wavelength range shorter than 10 mum decreased significantly through one experimental campaign (about 4 months). On the other hand the reflectivity in a wavelength range longer than 50 mum was larger than 70%. Decrease in the reflectivity in the central region of mirrors was more significant (the reflectivity for visible beams became almost zero) than that in the edge. The distribution of the reflectivity along the radial direction is expected to be related to the shape of the retroreflector. The parallelism of the reflected beam to an incident one also deteriorated. The changes in the polarization angle and in the ellipticity of reflected light polarization were not observed from the visible to the far infrared range.