SPARC X-ray diagnostics: technical and functional overview

Abstract

An overview is given of SPARC’s three main X-ray diagnostics with a focus on the functions they fulfill with respect to tokamak operation. The first is an in-vessel soft X-ray tomography diagnostic, aimed at providing early-campaign information on plasma position, MHD activity and impurity content. The second is an ex-vessel set of hard X-ray scintillators aimed at detecting the presence of runaway electrons, in particular during plasma startup phases. The third is a set of X-ray Bragg spectrometers, located outside of the Tokamak Hall, aimed at informing on the ion temperature as an indirect constraint to reduce uncertainties on the fusion power, on providing plasma rotation velocity estimates and on observing impurity emission. Finally, more technical details are given on the beamlines at the end of which the spectrometers are located. It is explained how their design allows to ensure tritium containment and limiting neutron radiation while providing a straight view into the plasma that can also be used for for testing new innovative sensors.