Phase contrast imaging interferometer for edge density fluctuation measurements on LHD

A phase contrast interferometer employing a CO_2 laser (wavelength lambda_i = 10.6 ?m) is designed and installed in order to study density fluctuations on a large helical device. A 250×50 mm slab beam passes the edge of the plasma, where rho= r/a>0.65, and provides observations of edge density fluctuations. A spatial image of the integrated fluctuations is measured by a multichannel detector array, of which the effective spacing is 5 mm in the plasma. Measured wave number components are dominated by radial components, and within the range of 7.2×10^?2