Assessment of the SPIDER beam features by diagnostic calorimetry and thermography.

The full-size ITER ion source prototype SPIDER (Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from a Radio frequency plasma) has recently started beam operation, whose objective is to produce 100 keV, 60 A hydrogen negative ions for 1 h. The source is presently operated in the volume regime, and the beam power is consequently limited. In such a configuration, the high resolution calorimeter STRIKE (Short-Time Retractable Instrumented Kalorimeter Experiment), even though uncooled, may be used instead of the SPIDER beam dump without limiting the beam-on time.

Design and development of an Allison type emittance scanner for the SPIDER ion source.

Low divergence negative ion beams are crucial for the development of ITER-like fusion reactors. SPIDER is the prototype beam source of the ITER heating neutral beam injector, and it recently started beam acceleration, up to a voltage of 30 kV. The main diagnostics used to measure beamlet divergence are a movable diagnostic calorimeter (STRIKE), which gives the thermal footprint of the beamlets; beam emission spectroscopy; and visible imaging.

Castellated tiles as the beam-facing components for the diagnostic calorimeter of the negative ion source SPIDER.

This paper presents the results of numerical simulations and experimental tests carried out to assess the feasibility and suitability of graphite castellated tiles as beam-facing component in the diagnostic calorimeter of the negative ion source SPIDER (Source for Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from Radio frequency plasma). The results indicate that this concept could be a reliable, although less performing, alternative for the present design based on carbon fiber composite tiles, as it provides thermal measurements on the required spatial scale.

High energy flux thermo-mechanical test of 1D-carbon-carbon fibre composite prototypes for the SPIDER diagnostic calorimeter.

Operation of the thermonuclear fusion experiment ITER requires additional heating via injection of neutral beams from accelerated negative ions. In the SPIDER test facility, under construction in Padova, the production of negative ions will be studied and optimised. STRIKE (Short-Time Retractable Instrumented Kalorimeter Experiment) is a diagnostic used to characterise the SPIDER beam during short pulse operation (several seconds) to verify if the beam meets the ITER requirements about the maximum allowed beam non-uniformity (below ±10%).

Thermal and electrostatic simulations of the diagnostic calorimeter for the source for production of ion of deuterium extracted from RF plasma beam.

To study and optimise negative ion production for the ITER neutral beam injectors, a test facility is under construction in Padova with the aim of testing beam characteristics and to verify the source proper operation. The instrumented calorimeter STRIKE (short-time retractable instrumented kalorimeter experiment) is being developed to characterise the SPIDER (Source for Production of Ion of Deuterium Extracted from RF plasma) beam during short operations. The paper presents an investigation of the response of STRIKE measurement systems.