Neutron spectroscopy as a fuel ion ratio diagnostic: lessons from JET and prospects for ITER.
The determination of the fuel ion ratio n(t)/n(d) in ITER is required at a precision of 20%, time resolution of 100 ms, spatial resolution of a/10, and over a range of 0.01<n(T)/n(D)<10. We use simplified but realistic Monte Carlo models of ITER to assess the possibility to use neutron emission spectroscopy (NES) for such measurements. We show that NES meets the requirements for ion temperatures T(i)>6 keV and for n(T)/n(D)<0.6. A crucial issue is the signal-to-background situation in the measurement of the weak 2.5 MeV emission from DD reactions in the presence of a background of scattered 14 MeV DT neutrons. Important experimental input and corroboration for this assessment are presented from the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer at JET where the presence of a strong component of backscattered neutrons is observed. Neutron emission components on ITER due to beam-thermal and tritium-tritium reactions can further enhance the prospects for NES.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University (EURATOM-VR Association), SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden. goran.ericsson@fysast.uu.se
G
G
Ericsson
S
S
Conroy
M
M
Gatu Johnson
E
E
Andersson Sundén
M
M
Cecconello
J
J
Eriksson
C
C
Hellesen
S
S
Sangaroon
M
M
Weiszflog