Multi-energy reconstructions, central electron temperature measurements, and early detection of the birth and growth of runaway electrons using a versatile soft x-ray pinhole camera at MST

A focusing X-ray spectrometer based on continuously conical crystal

X-ray optics with good focusing ability and high spectral resolution are required in X-ray spectroscopy for the diagnosis of high temperature and density plasmas. In our study, a novel X-ray spectrometer is developed to provide the ability to record spectra with excellent focusing performance and high energy resolution. It is accomplished by using a continuously conical crystal (CCC) that is formed by circles with different curvatures. In this paper, we present the foundational work of the design and development of continuously conical crystal spectrometer (CCCS) along with initial results obtained with a titanium (Ti) target as the object source. First, the spectrometer based on such a continuously conical crystal is used to measure X-ray spectra on Ti target X-ray Tube device. The spectral resolution (λ/Δλ) is around 615 with the source size of 1 mm. Then, we test the capability of the spectrometer on Xingguang-III Laser Facility with Ti target. He-like and Li-like Ti lines are recorded based on which the spectrometer performance is evaluated. The experiment result shows that the spectrometer provides a high spectral resolving power up to 1000, while acquiring a one-dimensional image of the source.

Robust analysis of space-, time-, and energy-resolved soft x-ray measurements of magnetically confined fusion plasmas (invited)

A novel compact multi-energy soft x-ray (ME-SXR) diagnostic based on the PILATUS3 100K x-ray detector has been developed in collaboration between the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and tested on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) reversed-field pinch. This solid-state photon-counting detector consists of a two-dimensional array of ∼100 000 pixels for which the lower photon absorption cutoff energy can be independently set, allowing it to be configured for a unique combination of simultaneous spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of ∼1 cm, 100 eV, and 500 Hz, respectively. The diagnostic is highly versatile and can be readily adapted to diverse plasma operating conditions and scientific needs without any required downtime. New results from improved-confinement and quasi-single helicity plasmas in the MST demonstrate how the detector can be applied to study multiple aspects of the evolution of magnetically confined fusion-grade plasmas. These include observing the evolution of thermal emissivity, characterizing the energy of mid-Z excitation lines, extracting the T_e profile, and observing the evolution of non-thermal populations. A technique for integrating the ME-SXR diagnostic into an integrated data analysis framework based on Bayesian inference is also presented. This allows ME-SXR measurements to be combined with data for complementary diagnostics in order to simultaneously infer T_e and n_Z from all available information.