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For the measurement of the dynamics of fusion-born alpha particles $E_\alpha \leq 3.5$ MeV in ITER using collective Thomson scattering (CTS), safe transmission of a gyrotron beam at mm-wavelength (1 MW, 60 GHz) passing the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) in the in-vessel tokamak `port plug' vacuum is a prerequisite. Depending on neutral gas pressure and composition, ECR-assisted gas breakdown may occur at the location of the resonance, which must be mitigated for diagnostic performance and safety reasons. The concept of a split electrically biased waveguide (SBWG) has been previously demonstrated in [C.P. Moeller, U.S. Patent 4,687,616 (1987)]. The waveguide is longitudinally split and a kV bias voltage applied between the two halves. Electrons are rapidly removed from the central region of high radio frequency electric field strength, mitigating breakdown. As a full scale experimental investigation of gas and electromagnetic field conditions inside the ITER equatorial port plugs is currently unattainable, a corresponding Monte Carlo simulation study is presented. Validity of the Monte Carlo electron model is demonstrated with a prediction of ECR breakdown and the mitigation pressure limits for the above quoted reference case with $^1$H$_2$ (and pollutant high $Z$ elements). For the proposed ITER CTS design with a 88.9 mm inner diameter SBWG, ECR breakdown is predicted to occur down to a pure $^1$H$_2$ pressure of 0.3 Pa, while mitigation is shown to be effective at least up to 10 Pa using a bias voltage of 1 kV. The analysis is complemented by results for relevant electric/magnetic field arrangements and limitations of the SBWG mitigation concept are addressed.

The Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostic measures the scattering spectrum of incident radiation off collective fluctuations in plasmas. In Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) the diagnostic uses a 140 GHz heating gyrotron as a source of the probing radiation. At this frequency, the CTS spectra are heavily affected by the electron cyclotron emission, and the microwave beam propagation is restricted at typical W7-X plasma parameters. The diagnostic was successfully commissioned in the last experimental campaign and demonstrated ion temperature measurements. However, the signal-to-noise ratio was too low for measuring other quantities such as the fast-ion velocity distribution function or the fuel ion ratio. Currently, the W7-X CTS diagnostic is undergoing an upgrade to a frequency of 175 GHz. This will increase the sensitivity of the diagnostic, since the noise due to electron cyclotron emission will be reduced, and it will relax the constraints on microwave beam propagation in W7-X. Here we present the salient features of the upgraded CTS system and discuss its prospects for both thermal-ion and fast-ion measurements.

The Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostic will be a primary diagnostic for measuring the dynamics of the confined fusion born alpha particles in ITER and will be the only diagnostic for alphas below 1.7 MeV [1]. The probe beam of the CTS diagnostic comes from a 60 GHz 1 MW gyrotron operated in a ~100 Hz modulation sequence. In the plasma, the probing beam will be scattered off fluctuations primarily due to the dynamics of the ions. Seven fixed receiver mirrors will pick up scattered radiation (the CTS signal) from seven measurement volumes along the probe beam covering the cross section of the plasma. The diagnostic is planned to provide a temporal resolution of ~100 ms and a spatial resolution of ~a/4 in the core and ~a/20 near the plasma edge where a = 2.0 m is the nominal minor radius of ITER. The front-end quasi-optics will be installed in an equatorial port plug (EPP#12). A particular challenge will be to pass the probing beam through the fundamental electron cyclotron resonance, which is located in the port plug (R=10.3 m) for the nominal magnetic field Bt = 5.3 T. Hence, particular mitigation actions against arcing have to be applied. The status of the design and specific challenges will be discussed.

NORTH is a small-sized tokamak located at the Technical University of Denmark. It can be operated both as a spherical tokamak and a simple magnetized torus (SMT). Here we show first experimental results. We discuss the setup of the device, including the layout of the vacuum vessel, the magnetic field coils, the power supply systems, the heating sources, diagnostics, and the control system. We present measurements in discharges that have been heated by electron cyclotron resonance heating at the fundamental resonance. The waves have been injected both from the low-field side and the high-field side, and rich fluctuation spectra in Langmuir probe and Rogowski coil signals are presented during the different plasma phases. Finally, we discuss research plans and further installations to be made on NORTH.

The Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) system will be the ITER diagnostic obtaining the plasma fast alpha-particle velocity distribution and will be implemented in drawer #3 of the Equatorial Port Plug #12 of the reactor. In this work, a neutronics analysis is presented for the in-vessel front-end parts of the CTS system, including neutron and gamma-ray fluxes and nuclear heat loads for the main components of the system calculated with the Monte Carlo radiation transport code MCNP6. In previous analyses the shielding materials were modelled as a homogeneous mixture, a crude approximation which did not consider the small gaps between the different components and between the CTS system and the shielding structure. In this work, a detailed model of the modular Diagnostics Shield Module (DSM) was developed, including all the shielding trays and all the individual boron carbide bricks. The results obtained with this model are compared with the ones obtained using a homogeneous mixture, to assess the effect of this approximation on the estimation of the neutron fluxes in the port interspace. The results show that the total neutron flux reaching the closure plate is estimated to be 2–3 times higher when the shielding is accurately modelled. This shows that the often-used homogeneous mixture approach underestimates the neutron fluxes during operation – a fact that could have great importance in the global shutdown dose rate estimates. On the other hand, the shielding implementation does not affect the heat loads in the front-end components of the system. Simulations to assess the Shutdown Dose Rates are performed using the D1S-UNED code. The results suggest that the entire port plug where the current CTS design is included will exceed the dose rate limit of 100 μSv/h in the port interspace. The contribution from the CTS system alone, however, is not sufficient to exceed the threshold.

The Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) will be the ITER diagnostic responsible for measuring the alpha-particle velocity distribution. Using mirrors, a powerful microwave beam is directed into the plasma via an opening in the plasma-facing wall. The microwaves will scatter off fluctuations in the plasma, and the scattered signal is recorded after transmission through a series of mirrors and waveguides. Several components of the CTS system will be directly exposed to neutron radiation from the plasma which can change the properties of the components and reduce their lifetime. In this paper, a neutronics analysis is presented for the CTS system. A study on the influence of different materials on the nuclear heat loads in the launcher mirror is also presented, along with the design of a simple cooling system. All the studies were conducted using the Monte Carlo program MCNP6. The outputs, in particular the nuclear heat loads, will be used to perform the thermal analysis of the system.

Bayesian integrated data analysis combines measurements from different diagnostics to jointly measure plasma parameters of interest such as temperatures, densities, and drift velocities. Integrated data analysis of fast-ion measurements has long been hampered by the complexity of the strongly non-Maxwellian fast-ion distribution functions. This has recently been overcome by velocity-space tomography. In this method two-dimensional images of the velocity distribution functions consisting of a few hundreds or thousands of pixels are reconstructed using the available fast-ion measurements. Here we present an overview and current status of this emerging technique at the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak and the JET toamak based on fast-ion D-alpha spectroscopy, collective Thomson scattering, gamma-ray and neutron emission spectrometry, and neutral particle analyzers. We discuss Tikhonov regularization within the Bayesian framework. The implementation for different types of diagnostics as well as the uncertainties are discussed, and we highlight the importance of integrated data analysis of all available detectors.

The Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostic on FTU tokamak was renewed for investigations on the excitation of Parametric Decay Instabilities (PDI) by Electron Cyclotron (EC) beams in presence of magnetic islands and their effects on the EC absorption. Experiments were performed launching a gyroton probe beam (140 GHz, 400 kW) and receiving the CTS beam in symmetric and asymmetric configurations with respect to the equatorial plane, in different conditions of plasma density and magnetic field (with or without the EC resonance in the plasma), and with magnetic islands generated by Neon injection. The acquisition with a fast digitizer allowed observing spectral features with very high time and frequency resolution. In the shots performed at 7.2 T, with the fundamental EC resonance out of the plasma region, a sequence of faint lines emitted with a fast temporal evolution have been observed in a range 0.5-1.1 GHz from the gyrotron frequency while at 4.7 T, with the resonance on the high field side of the plasma column, asynchronous "bursts" of continuous emissions were observed at a microsecond time scale. In 2015 and 2016 experiments were performed at 4.7 T and 3.6 T, in this last case with the plasma between the first and the second EC harmonics both lying outside the plasma volume. Different types of spectral features with a fast evolution were observed. Their correlation with magnetic probes and other fast signals from the plasma has been investigated, to characterize the observations and exclude parasitic effects, as well as breakdown phenomena in front of the antennas. The variation in the stray radiation distribution in the vessel has been studied with the aid of a diffusive model, to characterize variations on the probe beam absorption associated to the observed phenomena. The latest experiments, with a diagnostic improved both in frequency band (up to ±4.2 GHz from the probe) and with the addition of a second radiometer, are allowing a clearer interpretation of the emissions.

Here we review recent experimental developments within the field of collective Thomson scattering with a focus on the progress made on the devices TEXTOR and ASDEX Upgrade. We discuss recently discovered possibilities and limitations of the diagnostic technique. Diagnostic applications with respect to ion measurements are demonstrated. Examples include measurements of the ion temperature, energetic ion distribution function, and the ion composition.

In this paper we present the results of the R&D work that has been performed on avoiding electron cyclotron (EC) gas breakdown inside the launcher transmission line (TL) of the ITER collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostic, due to encountering the fundamental EC resonance, which is located inside the port plug vacuum for the baseline ITER magnetic field scenario. If an EC breakdown occurs, this can lead to strong local absorption of the CTS gyrotron beam, as well as arcing inside the ITER vacuum vessel, which must be avoided. Due to the hostile, restrictive, and nuclear environment in ITER, it is not possible to implement the standard method for avoiding EC breakdown - a controlled atmosphere at the EC resonance. Instead, the CTS diagnostic will include a longitudinally-split electrically-biased corrugated waveguide (SBWG) in the launcher transmission line. The SBWG works by applying a transverse DC bias voltage across the two electrically-isolated waveguide halves, causing free electrons to diffuse out of the EC resonant region before they can cause an electron-impact ionisation-avalanche, and thus an EC breakdown. Due to insufficient experimental facilities, the functionality of the SBWG is validated through Monte Carlo electron modelling.

Scattered millimeter waves entering from the collective Thomson scattering diagnostic at ASDEX Upgrade fusion device are generally elliptically polarized. In order to convert the millimeter waves to linearly polarized waves (required for the detector), birefringent window assemblies (sapphire) have been developed to replace grooved metal mirrors. This allows a significantly more compact receiver design which is less susceptible to misalignment. The setup has been tested and implemented at ASDEX Upgrade.

Microwave diagnostics will play an increasingly important role in burning plasma fusion energy experiments like ITER and beyond. The Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostic to be installed at ITER is an example of such a diagnostic with great potential in present and future experiments. The ITER CTS diagnostic will inject a 1 MW 60 GHz gyrotron beam into the ITER plasma and observe the scattering off fluctuations in the plasma - to monitor the dynamics of the fast ions generated in the fusion reactions.

We propose a diagnostic capable of measuring 2D fast-ion velocity distribution functions f2D v in the MeV-range in magnetized fusion plasmas. Today velocity-space tomography based on fast-ion D α spectroscopy is regularly used to measure f2D v for ion energies below 100 keV. Unfortunately, the signal-to-noise ratio becomes fairly low for MeV-range ions. Ions at any energy can be detected well by collective Thomson scattering of mm-wave radiation from a high-power gyrotron. We demonstrate how collective Thomson scattering can be used to measure f2D v in the MeV-range in reactor relevant plasmas such as in the tokamaks ITER or DEMO.

Author(s): Salewski, M; Geiger, B; Jacobsen, AS; Hansen, PC; Heidbrink, WW; Korsholm, SB; Leipold, F; Madsen, J; Moseev, D; Nielsen, SK; Nocente, M; Odstrcil, T; Rasmussen, J; Stagner, L; Stejner, M; Weiland, M | Abstract: Velocity-space tomography of the fast-ion distribution function in a fusion plasma is usually a photon-starved tomography method due to limited optical access and signal-to-noise ratio of fast-ion Dα (FIDA) spectroscopy as well as the strive for high-resolution images. In high-definition tomography, prior information makes up for this lack of data. We restrict the target velocity space through the measured absence of FIDA light, impose phase-space densities to be non-negative, and encode the known geometry of neutral beam injection (NBI) sources. We further use a numerical simulation as prior information to reconstruct where in velocity space the measurements and the simulation disagree. This alternative approach is demonstrated for four-view as well as for two-view FIDA measurements. The high-definition tomography tools allow us to study fast ions in sawtoothing plasmas and the formation of NBI peaks at full, half and one-third energy by time-resolved tomographic movies.

Strong scattering of high-power millimeter waves at 140 GHz has been shown to take place in heating and current-drive experiments at TEXTOR when a tearing mode is present in the plasma. The scattering signal is at present supposed to be generated by the parametric decay instability. Here we describe the heterodyne detection system used to characterize the newly discovered signal measured at TEXTOR, and we present spectral shapes in which the signal can appear under different conditions. The radiation is collected by the receiver through a quasi-optical transmission line that is independent of the electron cyclotron resonance heating transmission line, and so the scattering geometry is variable. The signal is detected with 42 frequency channels ranging from 136 to 142 GHz. We demonstrate that the large signal does not originate from gyrotron spurious radiation. The measured signal agrees well with independent backscattering radiometer data.

High-resolution γ-ray spectroscopy (GRS) measurements resolve spectral shapes of Doppler-broadened γ-rays. We calculate weight functions describing velocity-space sensitivities of any two-step reaction GRS measurements in magnetized plasmas using the resonant nuclear reaction 9Be(α, nγ)12C as an example. The energy-dependent cross sections of this reaction suggest that GRS is sensitive to alpha particles above about 1.7 MeV and highly sensitive to alpha particles at the resonance energies of the reaction. Here we demonstrate that high-resolution two-step reaction GRS measurements are not only selective in energy but also in pitch angle. They can be highly sensitive in particular pitch angle ranges and completely insensitive in others. Moreover, GRS weight functions allow rapid calculation of γ-ray energy spectra from fast-ion distribution functions, additionally revealing how many photons any given alpha-particle velocity-space region contributes to the measurements in each γ-ray energy bin.

Collective Thomson scattering (CTS) can provide measurements of the confined fast-ion distribution function resolved in space, time and 1D velocity space. On ASDEX Upgrade, the measured spectra include an additional signal which previously has hampered data interpretation. A new set-up using two independent heterodyne receiver systems enables subtraction of the additional part from the total spectrum, revealing the resulting CTS spectrum. Here we present CTS measurements from the plasma centre obtained in L-mode and H-mode plasmas with and without neutral beam injection (NBI). For the first time, the measured spectra agree quantitatively with the synthetic spectra in periods with and without NBI heating. For the discharges investigated, the central velocity distribution of neutral beam ions can be described by classical slowing down. These results will have a major impact on ITER physics exploration, since CTS is presently the only diagnostic to measure the confined alpha particles produced by the fusion reactions.

Anomalous emissions were found over the last few years in spectra of Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostics in tokamak devices such as TEXTOR, ASDEX and FTU, in addition to real CTS signals. The signal frequency, down-shifted with respect to the probing one, suggested a possible origin in Parametric Decay Instability (PDI) processes correlated with the presence of magnetic islands and occurring for pumping wave power levels well below the threshold predicted by conventional models. A threshold below or close to the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) power levels could limit, under certain circumstances, the use of the ECRH in fusion devices. An accurate characterization of the conditions for the occurrence of this phenomenon and of its consequences is thus of primary importance. Exploiting the front-steering configuration available with the real-time launcher, the implementation of a new CTS setup now allows studying these anomalous emission phenomena in FTU under conditions of density and wave injection geometry that are more similar to those envisaged for CTS in ITER. The upgrades of the diagnostic are presented as well as a few preliminary spectra detected with the new system during the very first operations in 2014. The present work has been carried out under an EUROfusion Enabling Research project. A shorter version of this contribution is due to be published in PoS at: 1st EPS conference on Plasma Diagnostics © 2015 Istituto di Fisica del Plasma - CNR.

The physics feasibility study [H. Bindslev et al., ITER Report Contract No. EFDA 01.654, 2003, www.risoe.dk/euratom/CTS/ITER] concludes that the frequency option below the electron cyclotron resonance was the only system capable of meeting the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) measurement requirements for the fusion alphas, with present or near term technology. This article presents the design of the collective Thomson scattering diagnostic for ITER at the 60 GHz range. The system is capable of measuring the fast ion distribution parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field at different radial locations simultaneously. The design is robust technologically with no moveable components near the plasma. The article includes the upgrade requirements to provide temporally and spatially resolved measurements of the fuel ion ratio.

Collective Thomson scattering (CTS) measurements provide information about the composition and velocity distribution of confined ion populations in fusion plasmas. The bulk ion part of the CTS spectrum is dominated by scattering off fluctuations driven by the motion of thermalized ion populations. It thus contains information about the ion temperature, rotation velocity, and plasma composition. To resolve the bulk ion region and access this information, we installed a fast acquisition system capable of sampling rates up to 12.5 GS/s in the CTS system at ASDEX Upgrade. CTS spectra with frequency resolution in the range of 1 MHz are then obtained through direct digitization and Fourier analysis of the CTS signal. We here describe the design, calibration, and operation of the fast receiver system and give examples of measured bulk ion CTS spectra showing the effects of changing ion temperature, rotation velocity, and plasma composition.

Fast-ion Dα (FIDA) and collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostics provide indirect measurements of fastion velocity distribution functions in magnetically confined plasmas. Here we present the first prescription for velocity-space tomographic inversion of CTS and FIDA measurements that can use CTS and FIDA measurements together and that takes uncertainties in such measurements into account. Our prescription is general and could be applied to other diagnostics. We demonstrate tomographic reconstructions of an ASDEX Upgrade beam ion velocity distribution function. First, we compute synthetic measurements from two CTS views and two FIDA views using a TRANSP/NUBEAM simulation, and then we compute joint tomographic inversions in velocity-space from these. The overall shape of the 2D velocity distribution function and the location of the maxima at full and half beam injection energy are well reproduced in velocity-space tomographic inversions, if the noise level in the measurements is below 10%. Our results suggest that 2D fast-ion velocity distribution functions can be directly inferred from fast-ion measurements and their uncertainties, even if the measurements are taken with different diagnostic methods.

Here we report on a study of the feasibility of measuring the fast ion phase space distribution in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) by collective Thomson scattering (CTS). The study covers the full range of potential probe frequencies from gyrotron based millimeter waves to the infrared of the CO2 laser. It is assessed whether the systems can meet the ITER measurement requirements and which technological developments may be required. The relative merits of the systems are compared. The study reveals that a CTS system based on a 60 GHz probe has the highest diagnostic potential, and is the only system expected to be able to meet all the ITER fast ion measurement requirements with existing or near term technology. With modest additions this system may also provide measurements of the fuel ion ratio.

Summary form only given. In fusion plasmas, the dominant heating source will be fusion generated energetic ions slowing down in the plasma. The same ions can also drive waves and instabilities in the plasma. Their distribution in velocity and in space has major impact on plasma dynamics, and plasma dynamics in turn affects the energetic ion distributions. The dynamics of energetic ions is thus important to measure in order to understand fusion plasmas, and important to monitor as part of input to plasma control. The collective Thomson scattering of millimeter waves has proven to be a valuable means of diagnosing energetic ion distributions in fusion plasmas1,2. A beam of mm-waves with a diameter of 5–10 cm and a power of 150–600 kW is sent through the plasma, and radiation scattered from this probe beam by the microscopic fluctuations in the plasma is detected. These microscopic fluctuations are in part induced by the ion motion and the fluctuations and hence the scattered radiation is thus sensitive to the ion distribution. This permits the fast ion distribution to be inferred from the detected scattered radiation. Dynamics of the fast ions is measured, and phenomena related to plasma instabilities observed.

Here we present the design of the fast-ion collective Thomson scattering receiver for millimeter wave radiation installed at ASDEX Upgrade, a tokamak for fusion plasma experiments. The receiver can detect spectral power densities of a few eV against the electron cyclotron emission background on the order of 100 eV under presence of gyrotron stray radiation that is several orders of magnitude stronger than the signal to be detected. The receiver down converts the frequencies of scattered radiation (100-110 GHz) to intermediate frequencies (IF) (4.5-14.5 GHz) by heterodyning. The IF signal is divided into 50 IF channels tightly spaced in frequency space. The channels are terminated by square-law detector diodes that convert the signal power into DC voltages. We present measurements of the transmission characteristics and performance of the main receiver components operating at mm-wave frequencies (notch, bandpass, and lowpass filters, a voltage-controlled variable attenuator, and an isolator), the down-converter unit, and the IF components (amplifiers, bandpass filters, and detector diodes). Furthermore, we determine the performance of the receiver as a unit through spectral response measurements and find reasonable agreement with the expectation based on the individual component measurements.

We compute tomographies of 2D fast-ion velocity distribution functions from synthetic collective Thomson scattering (CTS) and fast-ion D α (FIDA) 1D measurements using a new reconstruction prescription. Contradicting conventional wisdom we demonstrate that one single 1D CTS or FIDA view suffices to compute accurate tomographies of arbitrary 2D functions under idealized conditions. Under simulated experimental conditions, single-view tomographies do not resemble the original fast-ion velocity distribution functions but nevertheless show their coarsest features. For CTS or FIDA systems with many simultaneous views on the same measurement volume, the resemblance improves with the number of available views, even if the resolution in each view is varied inversely proportional to the number of views, so that the total number of measurements in all views is the same. With a realistic four-view system, tomographies of a beam ion velocity distribution function at ASDEX Upgrade reproduce the general shape of the function and the location of the maxima at full and half injection energy of the beam ions. By applying our method to real many-view CTS or FIDA measurements, one could determine tomographies of 2D fast-ion velocity distribution functions experimentally.

Localized measurements of the fast ion velocity distribution function and the plasma composition measurements are of significant interest for the fusion community. Collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostics allow such measurements with spatial and temporal resolution. Localized measurements require a good alignment of the optical path in the transmission line. Monitoring the alignment during the experiment greatly benefits the confidence in the CTS measurements. An in situ technique for the assessment of the elevation angle alignment of the receiver is developed. Using the CTS diagnostic on TEXTOR without a source of probing radiation in discharges with sawtooth oscillations, an elevation angle misalignment of 0.9◦ was found with an accuracy of 0.25◦. © 2012 American Institute of Physics

We demonstrate the use of collective Thomson scattering (CTS) for spatially localized measurements of the isotopic composition of magnetically confined fusion plasmas. The experiments were conducted in the TEXTOR tokamak by scattering millimeter-wave probe radiation off plasma fluctuations with wave vector components nearly perpendicular to the magnetic field. Under such conditions the sensitivity of the CTS spectrum to plasma composition is enhanced by the spectral signatures of the ion cyclotron motion and of weakly damped ion Bernstein waves. Recent experiments on TEXTOR demonstrated the ability to resolve these signatures in the CTS spectrum as well as their sensitivity to the ion species mix in the plasma. This paper shows that the plasma composition can be inferred from the measurements through forward modeling of the CTS spectrum. We demonstrate that spectra measured in plasmas consisting of hydrogen, deuterium and (3)He can be accurately reproduced by theory and yield inferred plasma compositions consistent with expectations. The potential to use CTS for measurements of plasma composition is of significant interest since CTS is well suited for reactor environments and since there is at present no established method to measure the fuel ion density ratio in the core of a burning fusion plasma.

The fast-ion collective Thomson scattering (CTS) receiver at ASDEX Upgrade can detect spectral power densities of a few eV in the millimeter-wave range against the electron cyclotron emission (ECE) background on the order of 100 eV under presence of gyrotron stray radiation that is several orders of magnitude stronger than the signal to be detected. The receiver heterodynes the frequencies of scattered radiation (100–110 GHz) to intermediate frequencies (IF) (4.5–14.5 GHz). The IF signal is divided into 50 IF channels tightly spaced in frequency space which are terminated by square-law Schottky detector diodes. The performance of the entire receiver is determined by the main receiver components operating at mm-wave frequencies (notch-, bandpass- and lowpass filters, a voltage-controlled variable attenuator, and an isolator), a mixer, and the IF components (amplifiers, band-pass filters, and detector diodes). We discuss here the design of the entire receiver, focussing on its performance as a unit. The receiver has been disassembled, and the performance of its individual components has been characterized. Based on these individual component measurements we predict the spectral response of the receiver assembled as a unit. The measured spectral response of the assembled receiver is in reasonable agreement with this prediction.

The collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostic proposed for ITER is designed to measure projected 1D fast-ion velocity distribution functions at several spatial locations simultaneously. The frequency shift of scattered radiation and the scattering geometry place fast ions that caused the collective scattering in well-defined regions in velocity space, here dubbed interrogation regions. Since the CTS instrument measures entire spectra of scattered radiation, many different interrogation regions are probed simultaneously. We here give analytic expressions for weight functions describing the interrogation regions, and we show typical interrogation regions of the proposed ITER CTS system. The backscattering system with receivers on the low-field side is sensitive to fast ions with pitch |p| = |v/v| 0.6–0.8. Additionally, we use weight functions to reconstruct 2D fast-ion distribution functions, given two projected 1D velocity distribution functions from simulated simultaneous measurements with the back- and forward scattering systems.

Experimental investigations of sawteeth interaction with fast ions measured by collective Thomson scattering on TEXTOR are presented. Time-resolved measurements of localized 1D fast-ion distribution functions allow us to study fast-ion dynamics during several sawtooth cycles. Sawtooth oscillations interact strongly with the fast-ion population in a wide range of plasma parameters. Part of the ion phase space density oscillates out of phase with the sawtooth oscillation during hydrogen neutral beam injection (NBI). These oscillations most likely originate from fast hydrogen ions with energies close to the full injection energy. At lower energies passing fast ions in the plasma centre are strongly redistributed at the time of sawtooth collapse but no redistribution of trapped fast ions is observed. The redistribution of fast ions from deuterium NBI in the plasma centre is found to vary throughout velocity space. The reduction is most pronounced for passing ions. We find no evidence of inverted sawteeth outside the sawtooth inversion surface in the fast-ion distribution function.

In this Letter we report measurements of collective Thomson scattering (CTS) spectra with clear signatures of ion Bernstein waves and ion cyclotron motion in tokamak plasmas. The measured spectra are in accordance with theoretical predictions and show clear sensitivity to variation in the density ratio of the main ion species in the plasma. Measurements with this novel diagnostic demonstrate that CTS can be used as a fuel ion ratio diagnostic in burning fusion plasma devices.

To overcome the challenge of measuring the fuel ion ratio in the core (ρ

We discuss the development and first results of a receiver system for the collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostic at TEXTOR with frequency resolution in the megahertz range or better. The improved frequency resolution expands the diagnostic range and utility of CTS measurements in general and is a prerequisite for measurements of ion Bernstein wave signatures in CTS spectra. The first results from the new acquisition system are shown to be consistent with theory and with simultaneous measurements by the standard receiver system. [doi:10.1063/1.3475540]

Fast ion physics will play an important role for the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER), where confined alpha particles will affect and be affected by plasma dynamics and thereby have impacts on the overall confinement. A fast ion collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostic using gyrotrons operated at 60 GHz will meet the requirements for spatially and temporally resolved measurements of the velocity distributions of confined fast alphas in ITER by evaluating the scattered radiation (CTS signal). While a receiver antenna on the low field side of the tokamak, resolving near perpendicular (to the magnetic field) velocity components, has been enabled, an additional antenna on the high field side (HFS) would enable measurements of near parallel (to the magnetic field) velocity components. A compact design solution for the proposed mirror system on the HFS is presented. The HFS CTS antenna is located behind the blankets and views the plasma through the gap between two blanket modules. The viewing gap has been modified to dimensions 30 × 500 mm2 to optimize the CTS signal. A 1:1 mock-up of the HFS mirror system was built. Measurements of the beam characteristics for millimeter-waves at 60 GHz used in the mock-up agree well with the modeling.

Fast ions created in the fusion processes will provide up to 70% of the heating in ITER. To optimize heating and current drive in magnetically confined plasmas insight into fast-ion dynamics is important. First measurements of such dynamics by collective Thomson scattering (CTS) were recently reported [Bindslev , Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 205005 2006]. Here we extend the discussion of these results which were obtained at the TEXTOR tokamak. The fast ions are generated by neutral-beam injection and ion-cyclotron resonance heating. The CTS system uses 100-150 kW of 110-GHz gyrotron probing radiation which scatters off the collective plasma fluctuations driven by the fast-ion motion. The technique measures the projected one-dimensional velocity distribution of confined fast ions in the scattering volume where the probe and receiver beams cross. By shifting the scattering volume a number of scattering locations and different resolved velocity components can be measured. The temporal resolution is 4 ms while the spatial resolution is similar to 10 cm depending on the scattering geometry. Fast-ion velocity distributions in a variety of scenarios are measured, including the evolution of the velocity distribution after turnoff of the ion heating. These results are in close agreement with numerical simulations.

An electron cyclotron emission (ECE) receiver inside the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) transmission line has been brought into operation. The ECE is extracted by placing a quartz plate acting as a Fabry-Perot interferometer under an angle inside the electron cyclotron wave (ECW) beam. ECE measurements are obtained during high power ECRH operation. This demonstrates the successful operation of the diagnostic and, in particular, a sufficient suppression of the gyrotron component preventing it from interfering with ECE measurements. When integrated into a feedback system for the control of plasma instabilities this line-of-sight ECE diagnostic removes the need to localize the instabilities in absolute coordinates. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.2976665]

Summary form only given. A critical need exists for confined fast ion diagnostics in tokamak fusion experiments, particularly for fusion product alpha particles in ITER and future fusion burning experiments. To develop this diagnostic capability and in support of current fast ion plasma physics research, collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostics have been implemented at TEXTOR and ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) tokamaks using available gyrotron infrastructure with the addition of sensitive scattered signal receiver systems. At TEXTOR a 180 kW, 110 GHz gyrotron and a 42 channel. 6 GHz bandwidth heterodyne receiver has achieved up to 100 CTS scattered spectra per plasma shot with 4 ms time and 10 cm spatial resolution. Large scattering angles (~160deg) with steerable optics enable observation of fast ion spatial and field orientation anisotropies. Studies of fast ion dynamics behavior with neutral beam injection (NBI) and ion cyclotron heating have commenced, resulting in unique observations of fast ions redistributions during sawteeth and slow down after NBI turn off. At AUG a 1 MW, 105 GHz mode of a two-frequency gyrotron with a 50 channel, 10 GHz bandwidth receiver is becoming operational for CTS diagnostics with resolutions similar to TEXTOR. Precise gyrotron frequency measurements, notch filter timing, transmission line alignments, and receiver field of view mappings inside the tokamak have been accomplished using novel beam profile instrumentation. AUG-CTS commissioning progress will be presented. Plasma measurements in AUG are expected to provide new insights into fast ion physics and to further validate gyrotron CTS as a fast ion diagnostic tool for ITER.

Here we present the first measurements by collective Thomson scattering of the evolution of fast-ion populations in a magnetically confined fusion plasma. 150 kW and 110 Ghz radiation from a gyrotron were scattered in the TEXTOR tokamak plasma with energetic ions generated by neutral beam injection and ion cyclotron resonance heating. The temporal behavior of the spatially resolved fast-ion velocity distribution is inferred from the received scattered radiation. The fast-ion dynamics at sawteeth and the slowdown after switch off of auxiliary heating is resolved in time. The latter is shown to be in close agreement with modeling results.

Here we present the first measurements by collective Thomson scattering of the evolution of fast-ion populations in a magnetically confined fusion plasma. 150 kW and 110 Ghz radiation from a gyrotron were scattered in the TEXTOR tokamak plasma with energetic ions generated by neutral beam injection and ion cyclotron resonance heating. The temporal behavior of the spatially resolved fast-ion velocity distribution is inferred from the received scattered radiation. The fast-ion dynamics at sawteeth and the slowdown after switch off of auxiliary heating is resolved in time. The latter is shown to be in close agreement with modeling results.

A collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostic was developed and used to measure the bulk and fast ions originating from 180 keV neutral beams in the Large Helical Device (LHD). Electromagnetic waves from a gyrotron at 77 GHz with 1 MW power output function as both the probe and electron cyclotron heating beam. To clarify the diagnostic applicability of the gyrotron in the 77 GHz frequency band, we investigated the dependence of the probe and receiver beam trajectories in plasmas with high electron densities of (4–5) × 1019 m−3 and low electron densities of (1–2) × 1019 m−3. At high density, a stray radiation component was observed in the CTS spectrum whereas it was negligibly small at low density. The CTS spectrum was measured and analysed after the in situ beam alignment using a beam scan. Qualitatively, the CTS spectrogram shows consistent response to ion temperatures of 1–2 keV for electron densities of (1–2) × 1019 m−3 and electron temperatures of 2–4 keV. The measured CTS spectrum shows an asymmetric shape at the foot of the bulk-ion region during the injection of 180 keV fast ions. This shape is explained by the fast-ion distribution in the velocity space (v‖, v⊥) based on Monte Carlo simulation results. The analysis method of the CTS spectra is used to evaluate the ion temperature and fast-ion velocity distribution from the measured CTS data.

Here we demonstrate a comprehensive comparison of collective Thomson scattering (CTS) measurements with steady-state Monte Carlo simulations performed with the ASCOT and VENUS codes. The measurements were taken at a location on the magnetic axis as well as at an off-axis location, using two projection directions at each location. The simulations agree with the measurements on-axis, but for the off-axis geometries discrepancies are observed for both projection directions. For the near perpendicular projection direction with respect to the magnetic field, the discrepancies between measurement and simulations can be explained by uncertainty in plasma parameters. However, the discrepancies between measurement and simulations for the more parallel projection direction cannot be explained solely by uncertainties in plasma parameters. Here anomalous fast ion transport is a possible explanation for the discrepancy.

Collective Thomson scattering (CTS) system has been constructed at LHD making use of the high power electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system in Large Helical Device (LHD). The necessary features for CTS, high power probing beams and receiving beams, both with well defined Gaussian profile and with the fine controllability, are endowed in the ECRH system. The 32 channel radiometer with sharp notch filter at the front end is attached to the ECRH system transmission line as a CTS receiver. The validation of the CTS signal is performed by scanning the scattering volume. A new method to separate the CTS signal from background electron cyclotron emission is developed and applied to derive the bulk and high energy ion components for several combinations of neutral beam heated plasmas.

Here we present collective Thomson scattering measurements of 1D fast-ion velocity distribution functions in neutral beam heated TEXTOR plasmas with sawtooth oscillations. Up to 50% of the fast ions in the centre are redistributed as a consequence of a sawtooth crash. We resolve various directions to the magnetic field. The fast-ion distribution is found to be anisotropic as expected. For a resolved angle of 39¿ to the magnetic field we find a drop in the fast-ion distribution of 20–40%. For a resolved angle of 83¿ to the magnetic field the drop is no larger than 20%. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

Collective Thomson scattering (CTS) has been proposed for measuring the phase space distributions of confined fast ion populations in ITER plasmas. This study determines the impact of fast ions accelerated by ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) on the ability of CTS to diagnose fusion alphas in ITER. Fast ions with large perpendicular velocities, such as the populations investigated here, can be detected with the ‘enabled’ part of the proposed ITER CTS diagnostic. The investigated ICRH scenarios include pure second harmonic tritium heating and 3He minority heating at a frequency of 50 MHz, corresponding to an off-axis resonance. The sensitivities of the results to the 3He concentration (0.1–4%) and the heating power (20–40 MW) are considered. Fusion born alphas dominate the total CTS signal for large Doppler shifts of the scattered radiation. The tritons generate a negligible fraction of the total fast ion CTS signal in any of these heating scenarios. The minority species 3He, however, contributes more than 10% of the fast ion CTS signal at locations close to the resonance layer for 3He concentrations larger than ∼1%. In this particular region in space for resolution of near perpendicular velocities, it may be difficult to draw conclusions about the physics of alpha particles alone by CTS. With this exception, the CTS diagnostic can reveal the physics of the fusion alphas in ITER even under the presence of fast ions due to ICRH.

Auxiliary heating such as neutral beam injection (NBI) and ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) will accelerate ions in ITER up to energies in the MeV range, i.e. energies which are also typical for alpha particles. Fast ions of any of these populations will elevate the collective Thomson scattering (CTS) signal for the proposed CTS diagnostic in ITER. It is of interest to determine the contributions of these fast ion populations to the CTS signal for large Doppler shifts of the scattered radiation since conclusions can mostly be drawn for the dominant contributor. In this study, distribution functions of fast ions generated by NBI and ICRH are calculated for a steady-state ITER burning plasma equilibrium with the ASCOT and PION codes, respectively. The parameters for the auxiliary heating systems correspond to the design currently foreseen for ITER. The geometry of the CTS system for ITER is chosen such that near perpendicular and near parallel velocity components are resolved. In the investigated ICRH scenario, waves at 50MHz resonate with tritium at the second harmonic off-axis on the low field side. Effects of a minority heating scheme with He-3 are also considered. CTS scattering functions for fast deuterons, fast tritons, fast He-3 and the fusion born alphas are presented, revealing that fusion alphas dominate the measurable signal by an order of magnitude or more in the Doppler shift frequency ranges typical for fast ions. Hence the observable CTS signal can mostly be attributed to the alpha population in these frequency ranges. The exceptions are limited regions in space with some non-negligible signal due to beam ions or fast He-3 which give rise to about 30% and 10-20% of the CTS signal, respectively. In turn, the dominance of the alpha contribution implies that the effects of other fast ion contributions will be difficult to observe by CTS.

The evolution of weakly nonlinear electrostatic drift waves in an externally imposed strong homogeneous magnetic field is investigated numerically in three spatial dimensions. The analysis is based on a set of coupled, nonlinear equations, which are solved for an initial condition which is perturbed by a small amplitude incoherent wave–field. The initial evolution is exponential, following the growth of perturbations predicted by linear stability theory. The fluctuations saturate at relatively high amplitudes, by forming a pair of magnetic field aligned vortex–like structures of opposite polarity, i.e. a pair of electrostatic convective cells.

The proposed fast ion collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostic system for ITER provides the unique capability of measuring the temporally and spatially resolved velocity distribution of the confined fast ions and fusion alpha particles in a burning ITER plasma. The present paper describes the status of the iteration toward the detailed design of the ITER fast ion CTS diagnostic and explains in detail a number of essential considerations and challenges. The diagnostic consists of two separate receiving systems. One system measures the fast ion velocity component in the direction near perpendicular, and the other measures the component near parallel to the magnetic field. Each system has a high-power probe beam at an operating frequency of 60 GHz and a receiver unit. In order to prevent neutron damage to moveable parts, the geometry of the probes and receivers is fixed. An array of receivers in each receiving unit ensures simultaneous measurements in multiple scattering volumes. The latter receiving system (resolving the parallel component) is located on the high field side (HFS) of the plasma, and this constitutes a significant challenge. This HFS receiving unit has been central in the studies, and new HFS receiver mock-up measurements are presented as well as neutron flux calculations of the influence of the increased slot height.