Soft X-ray Pulse Height Analyzer Research Articles

Theoretical interpretation of W soft X-ray spectra collected by the pulse height analysis system on Wendelstein 7-X stellarator

In many fusion devices, such as tokamaks or stellarators like Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), soft x-ray pulse height analysis (PHA) system diagnostics are routinely used during the experiments. The PHA system is dedicated to providing information about the impurity content, and average along line-of-sight electron temperature in the plasma conditions. Moreover, it is also able to estimate impurity density and an average effective charge from the comparison of experimental spectra with the modeled ones. However, the experimental x-ray spectra can be interpreted in terms of interesting plasma parameters only when the theoretical radiation models first identify and then take into account all the relevant factors that affect the spectrum. Therefore, for this purpose, a theoretical model has been applied. Flexible Atomic Code, which allows for calculation of various atomic properties such as energy levels, cross sections for excitation and ionization by electron impact, transition probabilities for radiative transitions and autoionization, and any others as needed in the collisional–radiative approximation. The chosen spectra collected during the W7-X campaign (OP1.2b) were examined, trying to obtain an agreement between the observed and simulated spectra. The analysis carried out allowed for a reliable interpretation of experimental x-ray spectra, estimation of the electron temperature, and obtaining information on the content of tungsten impurities.

Plasma impurities observed by a pulse height analysis diagnostic during the divertor campaign of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator.

The paper reports on the optimization process of the soft X-ray pulse height analyzer installed on the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator. It is a 3-channel system that records X-ray spectra in the range from 0.6 to 19.6 keV. X-ray spectra, with a temporal and spatial resolution of 100 ms and 2.5 cm (depending on selected slit sizes), respectively, are line integrated along a line-of-sight that crosses near to the plasma center. In the second W7-X operation phase with a carbon test divertor unit, light impurities, e.g., carbon and oxygen, were observed as well as mid- to high-Z elements, e.g., sulfur, chlorine, chromium, manganese, iron, and nickel. In addition, X-ray lines from several tracer elements have been observed after the laser blow-off injection of different impurities, e.g., silicon, titanium, and iron, and during discharges with prefill or a gas puff of neon or argon. These measurements were achieved by optimizing light absorber-foil selection, which defines the detected energy range, and remotely controlled pinhole size, which defines photon flux. The identification of X-ray lines was confirmed by other spectroscopic diagnostics, e.g., by the High-Efficiency XUV Overview Spectrometer, HEXOS, and high-resolution X-ray imaging spectrometer, HR-XIS.

First Results from the Soft X-ray Pulse Height Analysis System on Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator

The paper presents experimental results obtained during the first operational phase (called OP1.1) of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator (W7-X). One of W7-X diagnostics that delivers information about plasma impurities and was commissioned during the OP1.1, is the Pulse Height Analysis (PHA) system which provides soft X-ray spectra of highly ionized impurity species over a very broad energy range with energy resolution not worse than 200 eV and with temporal resolution of 100 ms. The line-of-sight integrated spectra, collected by a Silicon Drift Detector in the energy range between 0.9 and 10 keV, have been analyzed for various experimental conditions and are discussed with respect to results from other diagnostics. In this work, injected impurities (argon and neon) as well as intrinsic impurities (sulphur and chlorine) have been identified. Spectral lines corresponding to heavier impurities have not been observed.

Study of Inverted Sawtooth Activities in EAST Plasma

On the EAST tokamak, during whole off-axis LHCD (low hybrid current drive) limiter discharge, inverted sawteeth oscillations on the SXR (soft X-ray camera) signals appear continuously, and no positive sawtooth is observed. It is thought that this phenomenon is caused by the curvature pinch, though it could partly be explained by the electron temperature profile observed on the PHA (soft X-ray pulse height analyzer) system. The off-axis LHCD and Ohmic heating generate a non-monotonic q profile. According to the curvature pinch effect, this q profile leads to a special electron density profile that has a valley ring. The non-monotonic q profile and the special electron density profile lead to this interesting phenomenon.

Development of a soft X-ray pulse height analyzer on the J-TEXT tokamak

A soft X-ray pulse height analyzer has been designed and installed on the J-TEXT tokamak for measuring the electron temperature and possibly for monitoring the impurity content and concentration. A multi-channel analyzer, a set of amplifiers, and three silicon drift detectors constitute the detection system. An off-line analysis code was developed to analyze the raw data recorded by the system. The system can measure a minimum electron temperature of 400eV, and its routine operation provides electron temperature measurements at three different positions with a temporal resolution of 60ms and channel separation of 18cm. Line radiation from some moderate and high Z impurities are observable by the system. The results show that the intensity of line radiation from heavy impurity ions is inversely proportional to the plasma density under similar discharge conditions.

Preliminary observation of medium-Z impurities by means of the soft x-ray pulse height analysis diagnostic on EAST

A soft x-ray pulse height analysis (PHA) system, based on a silicon drift detector (SDD), has been successfully implemented on EAST to measure spectra of soft x-ray emission. Utilizing the soft x-ray PHA diagnostic, the behavior of intrinsic and injected medium-Z impurities is first investigated on EAST and the preliminary observations are presented. There are hardly any Kα emission peaks of metallic impurities including Ti (Z = 22), Cr (Z = 24), Fe (Z = 26), Ni (Z = 28) and Cu (Z = 29) in the soft x-ray spectra for an ohmic heating plasma due to lower electron temperatures, while remarkable peaks can be seen in a lower hybrid wave (LHW) heated plasma. The profiles of Kα intensities of these metallic elements have been obtained with about 7 cm spatial resolution. It is observed that the Kα emissions come mainly from the core plasma column of ρ ⩽ 0.3 and found that their intensities are roughly proportional to the power of the LHW launched into the plasma. The Ar Kα peaks can also be monitored when argon gas is puffed into the plasma. It is qualitatively confirmed that the Kα lines of argon emitted from the lower ionic states are predominantly located in the outer plasma region, whereas the Kα lines with higher energies are mainly from high ionization stages in the central region.

First results obtained from the soft x-ray pulse height analyzer on experimental advanced superconducting tokamak

An assembly of soft x-ray pulse height analyzer system, based on silicon drift detector (SDD), has been successfully established on the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) to measure the spectrum of soft x-ray emission (E=1-20 keV). The system, including one 15-channel SDD linear array, is installed on EAST horizontal port C. The time-resolved radial profiles of electron temperature and K(alpha) intensities of metallic impurities have been obtained with a spatial resolution of around 7 cm during a single discharge. It was found that the electron temperatures derived from the system are in good agreement with the values from Thomson scattering measurements. The system can also be applied to the measurement of the long pulse discharge for EAST. The diagnostic system is introduced and some typical experimental results obtained from the system are also presented.

Soft x-ray PHA measurement of the long pulse discharge in HT-7 tokamak

By analyzing the soft x-ray energy spectrum measured by the soft x-ray pulse height analysis (PHA) system, the electron temperature ( T e ) and the effective charge number ( Z eff ) of the ultra-long pulse discharge driven by lower hybrid wave (LHW) were obtained in the HT-7 tokamak. Moreover, the information of medium- Z impurities such as Ti, Cr, Fe, and Ni intrinsic to HT-7 tokamak can also be inspected. The accuracy of the electron temperature derived from the soft x-ray energy spectrum measurements is verified by comparing with the temperature measured by the Thomson scattering system for various plasmas and electron cyclotron emission diagnostic system for ohmic plasmas. The bulk electron temperature of about 1 keV and Z eff ≈ 2 were achieved for long pulse plasma. The appreciable K α lines of Ti, Cr, Fe and Ni metallic impurities released from the antennas of radio frequency wave and/or the first wall and Ar injected into plasma can be observed, and they kept stable during the long duration discharges. As a result, the longest pulse discharge with relatively high temperature of T e ( 0 ) ∼ 1 keV , and n e ( 0 ) ∼ 0.5 × 10 19 m − 3 has been achieved with a duration of 400 s in the HT-7 experimental campaign in 2008.

A new soft x-ray pulse height analysis array in the HL-2A tokamak

A new soft x-ray pulse height analysis (PHA) array including nine independent subsystems, on basis of a nonconventional software multichannel analysis system and a silicon drift detector (SDD) linear array consisting of nine high performance SDD detectors, has been developed in the HL-2A tokamak. The use of SDD has greatly improved the measurement accuracy and the spatiotemporal resolutions of the soft x-ray PHA system. Since the ratio of peak to background counts obtained from the SDD PHA system is very high, p/b > or = 3000, the soft x-ray spectra measured by the SDD PHA system can approximatively be regarded as electron velocity distribution. The electron velocity distribution can be well derived in the pure ohmic and auxiliary heating discharges. The performance of the new soft x-ray PHA array and the first experimental results with some discussions are presented.

Soft X-ray PHA Diagnostic for the Electron Temperature Measurements on EAST

Two soft X-ray pulse height analysis (PHA) systems, based on silicon drift detector (SDD), were established on the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) to measure spectrum of soft X-ray emission. In this paper, the soft X-ray PHA systems on EAST are introduced and some experimental results of electron temperature in EAST obtained from the soft X-ray PHA diagnostic are presented.

Calibration of an electron cyclotron emission diagnostic system and electron temperature measurements on HT-7 tokamak

Recently, a broadband heterodyne radiometer has been installed on HT-7 tokamak to measure second harmonic X-mode electron cyclotron emission (ECE) at a frequency range 98–126 GHz, which is the only ECE detectable mode with optical depth greater than 1 in the present study. The high temporal resolution (4 µs) diagnostic system is now operational with 16 detection channels separated by approximately 2 cm on the radial axis for measuring electron temperature (Te) on the low-field side for typical machine operation at a toroidal magnetic field (BT) of 1.0–2.5 T. The results of electron temperature measurements are presented along with the calibration of the diagnostic system. In order to cross calibrate the ECE system, the electron temperature data obtained have been compared to other Te measuring diagnostics, i.e. Thomson scattering and soft x-ray pulse height analysis (PHA). A radial electron temperature profile during the ohmic heating phase has been presented and analyzed. Future plans for the diagnostics of temperature fluctuations and measurements are also discussed.

Impurity Transport Study of Medium-Z Argon by Means of Soft X-Ray Pulse Height Analyzer in LHD

Radial profiles of impurity transport coefficients of argon have been successfully obtained in Large Helical Device, using an assembly equipped with conventional semiconductor detectors and soft x-ray pulse-height analyzers. Several fixed argon discharges have enabled the radial scanning of the assembly to measure the radial profiles of argon-Kα lines. The present experimental results indicate that the impurity transport study becomes possible with the soft x-ray pulse-height analyzers.

The Electron Temperature Estimation Using Soft X-Ray Imaging in HT-7 Tokamak

In order to estimate the electron temperature soft x-ray imaging diagnostics using a double filter technique has been developed in the HT-7 tokamak. The chosen thicknesses of the Be foil are 12.5 μm and 70 μm, respectively. In this article both the main design of the diagnostic configuration and the method to estimate the electron temperature are presented. The results agree with those estimated from the soft x-ray pulse height analyzer (PHA). The main causes of systematic error have also been investigated.

New Soft x-ray PHA Diagnostic in the HT-7 Tokamak

A soft x-ray Pulse Height Analysis (PHA) diagnostic with the recently introduced Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) and a new MCA system has been installed in HT-7 for the measurements of electron temperature. With the SDD detector, the x-ray emission can be detected in the energy range from 1 keV up to 20 keV. The extremely low anode capacity of SDD allows very high counting rates of x-ray above 200 kHz and short shaping times below 0.25 μs to be measurede. In routine operation a counting rate of 120 kHz has been normally obtained with an energy resolution of better than 180 eV at 5.9 keV. The assembly is equipped with six SDD detectors measuring the soft x-ray emission integrated along six chords of the upper half plasma cross section. The preliminary results from the new soft x-ray PHA diagnostic are also presented in this paper.

Soft x-ray pulse height analyzer in the HT-7 tokamak

A new soft x-ray pulse height analyzer (PHA), based on a Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) linear array consisting of 15 SDD detectors, has been installed in the HT-7 tokamak. The energy resolution of 150–180 eV at photon energy of 6 keV is achieved for the SDD with Peltier cooling. The effective time response of the SDD PHA is 50 ms. The profiles of electron temperature and the intensity of metallic impurities can be obtained with a spatial resolution of 3 cm. The performance and first experimental results from the new PHA system are presented.

A compact soft X-ray PHA in the HT-7 tokamak

A compact soft X-ray pulse height analyzer (PHA) to obtain spatial profile of electron temperature has been developed in the HT-7 superconducting tokamak. This diagnostic system was combined with recently introduced Silicon Drift Detector (SDD). SDD allow the measurement of X-rays at high-count rates and cooled only by a single-stage peltier element. The profiles of electron temperature with spatial resolution of 4.8 cm can be well derived in the pure ohmic heated and auxiliary heated discharge. The performance and first experimental results from the PHA system are presented.

Impurity transport studies by means of tracer-encapsulated solid pellet injection in neutral beam heated plasmas on LHD

The quantitative properties of impurity transport in large helical device (LHD) plasmas heated by neutral beam injection have been investigated by means of tracer-encapsulated solid pellet (TESPEL) injection. In the case of a titanium (Ti) tracer, the behaviour of the emission lines from the highly ionized Ti impurity, Ti Kα(EHe−like∼4.7 keV) and Ti XIX (λ = 16.959 nm), has been observed clearly by a soft x-ray pulse height analyzer and a vacuum ultraviolet spectrometer, respectively. A fairly longer decay time of the Ti Kα emission lines is obtained above the value of a line-averaged electron density, 3.0×1019 m−3. The dependence of the behaviour of the Ti tracer impurity on the line-averaged electron density below the value of that, 3.5×1019 m−3 is in qualitative agreement with the characteristics obtained from the observation of the behaviour of an intrinsic metallic impurity in neutral beam heated plasmas on LHD. In order to estimate the properties of the Ti impurity transport quantitatively, the one-dimensional impurity transport code, MIST has been used. As a result of the transport analysis with the MIST code, even an small inward convection should be necessary to account for the experimental results with the value of the line-averaged electron density, 3.5×1019 m−3. In order to examine the experimentally obtained transport coefficients, neoclassical analysis with respect to the radial impurity flux has been performed. The inferred rise of the inward convection cannot be explained solely by neoclassical impurity transport. Therefore, in order to account for the inward convection, the effect of a radial electric field and/or some other effect must be taken into account additionally.

A novel fast-scanning microwave heterodyne radiometer system for electron cyclotron emission measurements in the HT-7 superconducting tokamak

Two sets of fast-scanning microwave heterodyne radiometer receiver systems employing backward-wave oscillators in the 78-118 GHz and 118-178 GHz ranges were developed for electron cyclotron emission measurements (ECE) on the HT-7 superconducting tokamak. The double-sideband radiometer in the 78-118 GHz range measures 16 ECE frequency points with a scanning period of 0.65 ms. The novel design of the 2 mm fast-scanning heterodyne radiometer in the 118-178 GHz range enables the unique system to measure 48 ECE frequency points in 0.65 ms periodically. The plasma profile consistency in reproducible ohmic plasmas was used to relatively calibrate each channel by changing the toroidal magnetic field shot-by-shot. The absolute temperature value was obtained by a comparison with the results from the soft x-ray pulse height analysis measurements and Thomson scattering system. A preliminary temperature profile measurement result in pellet injection plasma is presented.

Measurement of Anisotropic Soft X-Ray Emission during Radio-Frequency Current Drive in the JFT-2M Tokamak

A new vertical soft X-ray pulse height analyzer (PHA) system and a tangential PHA system were used to measure the anisotropy of soft X-ray emission during lower-hybrid current drive (LHCD) and also during current drive by the combination of LHCD and electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) in the JFT-2M tokamak. The strong soft X-ray emission was measured in the parallel forward direction during LHCD. When ECRH was applied during LHCD, the perpendicular emission was enhanced. The high-energy electron velocity distribution was evaluated by comparing the measured and calculated X-ray spectra. The distribution form was consistent with the theoretical prediction based on the electron Landau damping of lower-hybrid waves and the electron cyclotron damping of electron cyclotron waves for reasonable energy ranges.

Electron velocity distributions measured with soft x-ray PHA at RTP

A soft x-ray pulse height analysis (PHA) system is begin used at the Rijhuizen Tokamak Project to study the electron velocity distribution. A liquid nitrogen cooled Si(Li) detector is used to view the plasma along a tangential line of sight. A gas cell in combination with Al foils is used for filtering. The data-acquisition system is set up in such a way that 16 subsequent spectra, of 1ms–1 s duration and in the energy range 4–30 keV, can be measured during a single tokamak discharge. The PHA system has been used extensively for measuring the electron temperature, the effective charge number Zeff, and the species and concentrations of high-Z impurities in the plasma. Special attention was devoted to study the effect on the electron velocity distribution of electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) power (60 GHz, up to 180 kW) launched in the ordinary mode from the low-field side. During application of ECRH the temperature deduced from PHA always exceeds the value from Thomson scattering. This deviation can be explained by the presence of nonthermal components in the electron velocity distribution. Finally, the effect of boronization of the vacuum vessel on the impurity concentration was studied.