The first operation of the advanced heavy ion beam probing diagnostic on the TJ-II flexible heliac

An advanced heavy ion beam probing diagnostic (HIBP) based on simultaneous utilization of two different systems for the secondary ions detection (a multiple cell array detector and 30° Proca-green electrostatic energy analyzer) has been developed for the TJ-II flexible heliac. This innovative design aims at enlarging the HIBP capabilities in order to allow the instantaneous measurements of electron density and plasma potential profiles together with their respective fluctuations. This paper presents the detailed description of the main parts of the HIBP equipment and their characteristics obtained during the first operation on TJ-II. Special attention is employed to the control and data acquisition system built on two VME controllers. The results of the diagnostic beam carrying through the magnetic structure of TJ-II into secondary beam line are presented and compared with the trajectory calculations. The problems of plasma loading of the detection system and HX-ray excitement by the probing beam are considered together with the ways of their solution.