Development of imaging bolometers for magnetic fusion reactors (invited)

Abstract

Imaging bolometers utilize an infrared (IR) video camera to measure the change in temperature of a thin foil exposed to the plasma radiation, thereby avoiding the risks of conventional resistive bolometers related to electric cabling and vacuum feedthroughs in a reactor environment. A prototype of the IR imaging video bolometer (IRVB) has been installed and operated on the JT-60U tokamak demonstrating its applicability to a reactor environment and its ability to provide two-dimensional measurements of the radiation emissivity in a poloidal cross section. In this paper we review this development and present the first results of an upgraded version of this IRVB on JT-60U. This upgrade utilizes a state-of-the-art IR camera (FLIR/Indigo Phoenix-InSb) (3?5?μm, 256×360?pixels, 345 Hz, 11 mK) mounted in a neutron/gamma/magnetic shield behind a 3.6 m IR periscope consisting of CaF2 optics and an aluminum mirror. The IRVB foil is 7?cm×9?cm×5?μm tantalum. A noise equivalent power density of 300 ?μW/cm2 is achieved with 40×24 channels and a time response of 10 ms or 23?μW/cm2 for 16×12 channels and a time response of 33 ms, which is 30 times better than the previous version of the IRVB on JT-60U