Neutronic analysis of ITER radial x-ray camera

Abstract

The radial x-ray camera (RXC) is designed to measure the poloidal profile of plasma x-ray emission with high spatial and temporal resolution. The RXC diagnostic system consists of internal camera module and external camera module that view the core region and outer region through the vertical slots of the diagnostic first wall and diagnostics shield module of the equatorial port plug. To ensure the normal performance of the silicon photodiode array detectors of the cameras in the hard neutron irradiation environment in ITER tokamak, it is necessary to calculate neutron flux, radiation damage and the nuclear heating of the silicon photodiode array detectors and simulate the radiation maps of the range of RXC. This work estimated the nuclear environment of RXC based on Monte Carlo N-particle transport code, plasma scenarios of ITER tokamak and the RXC-integrated ITER CLITE model. The neutron flux of silicon photodiode array detectors and the lifetime of the silicon photodiode detector in the camera were calculated. The neutronic analysis results show that the shielding design has achieved the effect as expected and is able to guarantee the normal work of the detector during the ITER deuterium–deuterium phase without replacement, three detectors of the external camera can be operated during the whole deuterium–tritium phase without replacement.